PSI: Water on Saturn's Moon Phoebe Is Out of This World

Find out the latest thinking about our universe.
Post Reply
User avatar
bystander
Apathetic Retiree
Posts: 21571
Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 2:06 pm
Location: Oklahoma

PSI: Water on Saturn's Moon Phoebe Is Out of This World

Post by bystander » Mon Dec 03, 2018 8:07 pm

The Water in Saturn’s Rings and Satellites is Like That on Earth
Except for Saturn’s Moon Phoebe, Which is Out of This World

Planetary Science Institute | 2018 Nov 03
By developing a new method for measuring isotopic ratios of water and carbon dioxide remotely, scientists have found that the water in Saturn’s rings and satellites is unexpectedly like water on the Earth, except on Saturn’s moon Phoebe, where the water is more unusual than on any other object so far studied in the Solar System. ...

Isotopes are different forms of elements but with differing numbers of neutrons. Adding a neutron adds mass to the element, and that can change processes of how a planet, comet, or moon is formed. Water is composed of two hydrogen (H) atoms and one oxygen atom, H2O. Adding a neutron to one hydrogen atom, then called deuterium (D), increases the mass of a water molecule (HDO) by about 5 percent, and that small change results in isotopic differences in the formation of a planet, moon, or comet, and changes the evaporation of water after formation. The deuterium to hydrogen ratio (D/H) is a fingerprint of the formation conditions, including temperature and evolution over time. Evaporating water enriches deuterium in the remaining surface.

Models for the formation of the Solar System indicate that the D/H should be much higher in the colder outer Solar System than in the hotter inner system where the Earth formed. Deuterium is more abundant in cold molecular clouds. Some models predict the D/H should be 10 times higher for the Saturn system than on Earth. But the new measurements show this is not the case for Saturn’s rings and satellites except Saturn’s moon Phoebe. ...

Isotopic Ratios of Saturn's Rings and Satellites: Implications for the Origin of Water and Phoebe ~ Roger N. Clark et al
Know the quiet place within your heart and touch the rainbow of possibility; be
alive to the gentle breeze of communication, and please stop being such a jerk.
— Garrison Keillor

User avatar
neufer
Vacationer at Tralfamadore
Posts: 18805
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 1:57 pm
Location: Alexandria, Virginia

Re: PSI: Water on Saturn's Moon Phoebe Is Out of This World

Post by neufer » Tue Dec 04, 2018 3:42 am

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_heavy_water_sabotage wrote:
<<The Norwegian heavy water sabotage was a series of operations undertaken by Norwegian saboteurs during World War II to prevent the German nuclear weapon project from acquiring heavy water (deuterium oxide), which could have been used by the Germans to produce nuclear weapons. In 1934, at Vemork, Norway, Norsk Hydro built the first commercial plant capable of producing heavy water as a byproduct of fertilizer production. It had a capacity of 12 tonnes per year. During World War II, the Allies decided to remove the heavy water supply and destroy the heavy water plant in order to inhibit the German development of nuclear weapons.>>
Art Neuendorffer

Post Reply