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Enceladus

This illustration shows Saturn's icy moon Enceladus with a buildup of ice particles, water vapor, and organic molecules ejected from cracks in the moon's south polar region. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Saturn's surprise: NASA discovered an energy source and a basic molecule for life on Enceladus

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In the new study, evidence for additional sources of chemical energy, much stronger and more diverse than methane production, was discovered: a group of organic compounds was found that were oxidized, and this points to many chemical pathways for the existence of potential life in the subsurface ocean of Enceladus, because oxidation helps to release chemical energy.
An artist's impression of the Cassini spacecraft flying through plumes erupting from the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus. These geysers are very similar to geysers and emit a mixture of water vapor, ice grains, salts, methane and other organic molecules. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The Webb Space Telescope discovers a 10,000 km long plume of water erupting from Saturn's moon Enceladus

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This is the first time that such an emission of water has been seen from such a great distance, and in addition, the web allows researchers a direct view, for the first time, of how this emission feeds the water supply of the entire system of Saturn and its rings
An army of fighting machines from Mars destroying England (1906) Illustration for the book "The War of the Worlds" in the Belgian edition of 1906, by the Brazilian artist Henrique Alavim Cora.

The four most promising worlds for extraterrestrial life in the solar system

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The recent discovery of possible biogenic phosphine in the clouds of Venus reminds us that at least some of the ingredients necessary for life exist elsewhere in the solar system. So where are the most promising places for extraterrestrial life?
The north pole of Enceladus. Source: NASA.

The north pole of Enceladus

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Water vapor and mineral particles drift into space from the surface of the moon Enceladus, one of the icy moons orbiting Saturn. Metamorphoses hint at the existence of an ocean beneath the ice and the fascinating possibility that it contains life. Artist rendering: NASA / David Seal.

Is there life on one of Saturn's icy moons?

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Kalachao Siyum, a doctoral student at the University of Arizona, of Ethiopian origin, presents the jawbone he discovered at a site in the Afar state in Ethiopia, which dates back the first species in the human lineage to 2.8 million years. Photo: Arizona State University

Summary of the year 2015 in science

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