Saturn’s smallest major moon, Mimas, looks like a solid block of ice, However, while it’s comparatively diminutive it just got a whole lot more interesting to scientists as they say that contrary to previous beliefs, it likely has a massive liquid ocean under its surface.
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00:00This is the smallest of Saturn's major moons, called Mimas.
00:07However, while it's comparatively diminutive, it just got a whole lot more interesting to
00:11scientists as they say that contrary to previous beliefs, Mimas likely has a massive liquid ocean
00:17under its surface. It was previously believed that because of its cratered outside, it must
00:21be a solid moon of ice. That's because astronomers predicted that any moon that was as pockmarked
00:26and cratered as Mimas must be solid, as a non-solid moon would fissure during asteroid impacts.
00:31However, Mimas has another peculiarity that has led experts to a new conclusion. It wobbles
00:36during its orbit around Saturn. Using observational data from the Cassini probe, researchers built
00:41a computer simulation and tested the global subsurface ocean theory against a solid core
00:45theory, finding that not only is it more likely than not that Mimas has liquid oceans under
00:49its icy exterior, but that liquid ocean is young, only around 25 million years old. Experts
00:55say their best guess for why an ocean suddenly began to form there after billions of years
00:59is due to how large planetary objects interact gravitationally in space. Gravity can cause
01:03the internals of an object to be stressed, creating friction and warming them. This is why Jupiter's
01:08moon Io is so volcanic, being pulled on either side by the largest planet in the solar system
01:13and two of its other moons. And it's the best guess for why Mimas might be getting warmer
01:18from the inside out.