back to article NASA boffins find an explanation for Saturn's wonky moon

Enceladus, Saturn’s watery moon, may have been tipped on its axis after being battered with an asteroid, new evidence reveals. NASA’s Cassini mission may be entering its Grand Finale stage, but the data collected is still a treasure trove for discovery. Results published last month in Icarus, a planetary science journal, show …

  1. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Go

    Astonishing. This would have been hit very hard indeed for that tipover

    It's quite amazing it didn't smash into a small asteroid belt.

    And a gentle nudge to policy makers on Earth.

    What can happen once in the Solar system can happen again.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Astonishing. This would have been hit very hard indeed for that tipover

      It would have looked amazing!

      These big impacts might be responsible for some of the weirdness in the planets - Uranus is practically lying on its side and the best explanation is that it was hit by something about the size of the Earth early in its life.

      And *something* - probably another huge impact, robbed Venus of its rotational energy giving it a day longer than its year and sunrise in the west.

      Not to mention giving us our very own humungous Moon.

    2. Baldrickk

      Re: Astonishing. This would have been hit very hard indeed for that tipover

      From reading the article, it wasn't the impact itself that 'tipped' the moon. Instead, the impact destabilised the surface, changing its shape.

      Imagine a lead ball spinning on your desk.

      Now hit it with a hammer, deforming it

      Try spinning it again - it's unlikely that it will spin as smoothly as it did before - it is now unstable and flops around because the mass isn't evenly distrubuted. - the centre of mass is now not at the centre of the sphere.

      Over time, the moon stabilised again, now with the misshapen bit at one of the poles, where it has the least angular momentum, and the least impact on the stability.

  2. Bloodbeastterror

    Side note

    A minor comment on style.

    "battered with an asteroid" sort of implies that something was wielding it. Is this a subliminal hint that the wonkiness is God's work?

    Surely "battered by an asteroid"?

    1. DNTP

      Re: Side note

      Impacted by an asteroid, I think, implies far less agency than using the word "battered" at all.

      Other possible verb choices: Pasted, Creamed, Knockwobbled, Titsup-rendered, Aggro-twittered, Kinetically-challenged, Bolided-to-bollocks.

    2. Pirate Dave Silver badge
      Pirate

      Re: Side note

      "Is this a subliminal hint that the wonkiness is God's work?"

      Maybe it was an asteroid made out of meatballs. They could still lie frozen under the icy surface, waiting to be found, to bear witness of His Noodly Goodness and put doubts to rest in the hearts of the faithless. All Hail!

      1. Swarthy

        Re: Side note (@ Pirate Dave)

        Ramen.

  3. Faux Science Slayer

    Saturn's moon Titan's atmosphere is Methane

    Titan has Methane clouds, liquid Methane oceans and frozen Methane polar caps....

    Titan never gets above -100°F....where did all of this fossil fuel come from ?

    Only one answer....frozen dinosaurs, eating frozen ferns, causing frozen Methane....

    (or...."Fossil Fuel is Nuclear Waste " at CanadaFreePress, Sept 2010)

  4. Simon Harris

    Intergalactic Billiards.

    Lucky it wasn't potted straight into a black hole.

    1. phuzz Silver badge

      Re: Intergalactic Billiards.

      A black hole! Where did that come from Holly?

      1. Gio Ciampa

        Re: Intergalactic Billiards.

        More likely Ford Prefect's doing - one Gargleblaster too many I'll wager ...

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