'Death Star' moon, Mimas of Saturn, could be full of 'life-friendly water'

[Bee York]

[QUOTE]
Mimas has long been thought to be one of the duller moons of mighty gas giant Saturn - apart from its frankly worrying resemblance to the Death Star, that is. But now, a new study indicates that the humdrum space boulder could have hidden depths.
A team of astronomers have been studying the moon using the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft, which has been orbiting Saturn for the last ten years, and discovered Mimas' orbit wobbles much more than theoretical models allow.
"After carefully examining Mimas, we found it librates – that is, it subtly wobbles – around the moon's polar axis," [URL="http://mediarelations.cornell.edu/2014/10/16/wobbling-of-a-saturn-moon-hints-at-what-lies-beneath/"]said[/URL] Radwan Tajeddine, Cornell research associate in astronomy and lead author of the paper [URL="http://news.sciencemag.org/space/2014/10/does-mimas-have-ocean-under-icy-cap?rss=1"]published[/URL] in Science.
"We're very excited about this measurement because it may indicate much about the satellite's insides. Nature is essentially allowing us to do the same thing that a child does when she shakes a wrapped gift in hopes of figuring out what's hidden inside."
The team used data from Cassini to build a 3D model of the moon's orbit and found it wobbles twice as much as it ought. Such wobbles can be caused by the gravity of passing of planetary masses, but Mimas' motion points to two other possibilities.
Firstly, it's possible that the rocky surface of the moon is hiding an ocean deep within the planet. At just 400 kilometers in diameter Mimas won’t have enough mass to have a hot core but tidal kneading caused by the close proximity of Saturn could provide enough heat for some of the moon's innards to be liquids. Based on the 3D modelling the ocean would have to be around 24 to 31 kilometers beneath the surface of the moon's crust to account for the wobble.
[/QUOTE]

[url]http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/17/cassini_spots_death_star_moon_of_saturn_is_unexpectedly_wobbly/[/url]

[Javascript]

Fuck yes, space. You're awesome.

[croguy]

Mimas just keeps on surprising people. First it's the death star shape, then it was the pac-man heat signature, and now it's an underground ocean.

[Axsisel]

Mimas Lunar Spa™: Opening Soon!*

* Maybe...

[Holt]

Thats no moon...

Oh wait, yes it is.