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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

SwRI scientist uncovers evidence for an internal ocean in small Saturn moon [swri.org]

A Southwest Research Institute scientist set out to prove that the tiny, innermost moon of Saturn was a frozen inert satellite and instead discovered compelling evidence that Mimas has a liquid internal ocean. In the waning days of NASA’s Cassini mission, the spacecraft identified a curious libration, or oscillation, in the moon’s rotation, which often points to a geologically active body able to support an internal ocean.

“If Mimas has an ocean, it represents a new class of small, ‘stealth’ ocean worlds with surfaces that do not betray the ocean’s existence,” said SwRI’s Dr. Alyssa Rhoden, a specialist in the geophysics of icy satellites, particularly those containing oceans, and the evolution of giant planet satellites systems.

Mimas [wikipedia.org] (the Death Star one).

Also at The Verge [theverge.com] and NYT [archive.org].

The case for an ocean-bearing Mimas from tidal heating analysis [sciencedirect.com] (DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2021.114872)

Original Submission