Word: moons
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...they build up in the still, warm waters of the Gulf, they in turn feed excess growth of algae. When algae dies and decomposes, the process sucks much of the oxygen out of the water. A sea without oxygen is little different from the surface of the moon - nothing can live there. Fish and other sea life flee, or suffocate. That's the Gulf's dead zone, and last year it reached 7,915 sq. mi (20,500 sq. km) - nearly the size of the New Jersey. Worse, the dead zone is getting bigger, with last year's bloom...
...collecting particles from the plumes of gas and water vapor bursting out of Enceladus at approximately 800 miles per hour, scientists hope to better understand the composition of the moon's surface in contrast to its interior - scientists believe that some of the plumes' water-ice particles emerge from within the moon and some bounce off its surface. Scientists also want to know whether there is any liquid water - an essential component to supporting life - below the moon's iced surface. "The thing that makes Enceladus so exciting is that all of the ingredients you would need to support life...
...moon's plumes emit particles that are 90% water, in vaporized form, and contribute to the large rings around Saturn. "It's like the steam coming out of your kettle," Hansen-Koharcheck says. By analyzing the molecular structure of these particles, scientists hope to determine whether the vapor originates as ice or liquid, and whether that means there could be life in Enceladus's interior, beneath the surface...
Scientists hope that clearer data will reveal information about why the geysers formed. The leading theory is that Saturn's gravitational pull puts stresses on the moon, causing the fissures from which the plumes erupt. "Enceladus' orbit around Saturn is eccentric," Mitchell says. It's just enough off of circular that the effect of gravity on the moon is different from one point to another, and different from the planet's other moons. "That difference in the tug would be enough to cause the body to distort differently as it goes around Saturn." The friction created when sides...
...addition to collecting particles for analysis in an ion and neutral mass spectrometer, and a cosmic dust analyzer, Cassini will photograph yet unseen parts near the moon's south pole. It will also use infrared technology to create a comprehensive map of surface temperatures at the south pole. Warmer temperatures increase the likelihood that there is water in liquid form on the small moon...