Using data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, researchers have determined that the far southern reaches of the Saturn moon Enceladus produce about 15.8 gigawatts of heat-generated power. That's about 2.6 times the power output of all the hot springs in and around Yellowstone — and 10 times more than scientists had predicted, researchers said. The 15.8 gigawatts of heat on Enceladus measured by Cassini is roughly equivalent to the output of 20 coal-fired power plants. This came as a surprise, since a previous study had predicted that the region should generate only about 1.1 gigawatts.
The new results make Enceladus an even more attractive candidate to support life as we know it. Scientists had suspected that a huge, liquid-water ocean sloshes beneath the moon's icy crust, and the increased heat readings only make this supposition more likely, researchers said. On Earth, life almost invariably gains a foothold wherever liquid water exists, so "follow the water" has become a mantra for scientists searching for life beyond Earth. Space.com
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