Saturn moon geyser theory: ancient heat
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Heat from radioactive decay inside the icy Saturnian moon Enceladus shortly after its formation 4.5 billion years ago may explain why geysers are erupting at the surface today, scientists say.
According to the theory, reported Monday at the annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, Enceladus formed by the mixing of ice and rock containing radioactive isotopes of aluminum and iron.
Over several million years, the rapid decay of the isotopes produced a burst of heat that resulted in a rocky core enclosed by an ice sheet, some scientists speculate.
