On Mimas, satellite of Saturn, there may be an ice-cold ocean

In the 18th century, astronomer William Herschel discovered Saturn’s smallest eighth satellite, which had not been seen before. Mimas was named after the son of Gaia, the goddess of Greek myths. The diameter of the satellite is about 400 kilometers, and its surface "decorates" a huge 130-km crater.

Experts from NASA found that Mimas behaves differently in orbit than most other satellites. The fact is that moving in its orbit around Saturn, Mimas makes a slow oscillation. Scientists believe that the cause of these wobble may be the presence in the depth of a large amount of water, of course, in liquid form.
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Photos of Mimas were transmitted to earth by the interplanetary station Cassini, which has been in orbit for Saturn for 10 years, studying this gas giant and its surroundings. The leader of the Cassini project, Radwan Tajdeddin, reported a high amplitude of the satellite oscillations during orbital motion. To be more precise, these fluctuations are actually twice as large as expected in the calculations.

Libration, the slow rocking of the satellite, is already a familiar phenomenon for astronomers. Observation revealed it in some satellites of other planets. The reason for libration can be either the presence of liquid water, in large quantities, or the reason for this behavior of the satellite is its shape.



In the process of studying the data, scientists have created several models of "behavior" Mimas, some of which are created according to data provided by "Cassini". There are two main versions of Mimas' libration. According to the first, at a depth of 24 to 31 kilometers from the surface, the ocean is located. And tidal heating contributes to satellite oscillations. According to the second theory, libration is caused by the unusual shape of the Mimas nucleus. It is assumed that the core may be oval.

However, both theories have contradictions that are difficult to deny. If there was an ocean inside Mimas, then faults would be discovered on the surface of the satellite, through which liquid water emissions would happen from time to time. But nothing like this has been observed. In order to confirm or deny the second theory, you need more data, which, unfortunately, is not yet available.
If the presence of liquid water under the ice surface of Mimas is proved, then astronomers will probably have another potentially inhabited world. Expedition to Europe is already planned (unmanned, of course). Maybe Mimas will interest scientists so much that it will be decided to send the station there too.

Via popularmechanics