Scientists of the South-Western Research Institute found that a small satellite Saturn is MIMAS – may have an internal base ocean. This is reported in an article published in the magazine ICARUS.
Cassini spacecraft In the last days of its mission, there was a libration – oscillations of the satellite rotation axis, which may indicate geological activity capable of supporting the inner ocean. If this is confirmed, the satellite will represent a new class of ocean worlds with a surface that does not have external signs of the existence of huge amounts of liquid water.
In the solar system there are several worlds with oceans hidden under the surface. These include Europe, Titan, Encelada, as well as Pluto. On the mimas, the surface is covered with craters, so scientists did not assume that the ocean may be under it. In Encelade and Europe, the icy surface is covered with cracks and has other signs of geological activity.
Tidal processes dispel orbital and rotational energy satellite in the form of heat. Such tidal heating inside the mimas must be large enough so that the ocean does not freeze, but small enough to maintain a shell with a thickness of 22-32 kilometers.