Encedalus Lives Again

Astronomers have powerful new evidence that Saturn's sixth-largest moon holds an underground sea that may contain the ingredients of life

In Greek mythology, Encedalus was a Gigante, one of the humongous children of Gaia (Mother Earth), who was fertilized by the blood of Ouranos (Father Sky) after he was castrated by his son Cronus, the leader of the Titans.

In astronomy, Encedalus is the sixth-largest moon of Saturn, discovered in 1789 by Hanoverian astronomer William Herschel.

And now, scientists believe that this geologically active moon may possess the fundamental building blocks of life, thanks to the work of the Cassini-Huygens robotic spacecraft, a joint mission of NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI).

"In recent dives through the water ice plume of Enceladus, the Cassini plasma spectrometer has found unexpected populations of charged molecules and dust that strengthen arguments for the presence of liquid water and the ingredients for life inside the icy moon," according to a February 8 NASA press release.

"While it's no surprise that there is water there, these short-lived ions are extra evidence for sub-surface water and where there's water, carbon and energy, some of the major ingredients for life are present," said lead author of the study Andrew Coates from University College London’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory.

Encedalus was killed by the goddess Athena in a battle between the Gigantes and the Olympian gods. He was buried in Sicily under Mount Etna, whose volcanic fires were said to be the breath of the dead giant.

Perhaps he lives again, 750 million miles away, on the moon named after him.

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image: north polar region of Encedalus (credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute)