Enceladus heat transfer infographic (IMAGE)

University of Oxford

Enceladus heat transfer infographic

Caption

A new study has constrained the Enceladus’ global conductive heat flow by studying its seasonal temperature variations at its north pole (yellow). These results, when combined with existing ones of its highly active south polar region (red) provide the first observational constraint of Enceladus’ energy loss budget (<54 GW) – which is consistent with the predicted energy input (50 to 55 GW) from tidal heating. This implies Enceladus’ current activity is sustainable in the long term – an important prerequisite for the evolution of life, which is thought possible to exist in its global sub-surface ocean. Image credit: University of Oxford/NASA/JPL-CalTech/Space Science Institute (PIA19656 and PIA11141)

Credit

Image credit: University of Oxford/NASA/JPL-CalTech/Space Science Institute (PIA19656 and PIA11141)

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Infographic is for editorial purposes relating to this press release ONLY and MUST be credited. It MUST NOT be sold on to third parties.

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