Unidentified substance revealed on Saturn's moon
Scientists have uncovered the secret of an unidentified substance found on Rhea, the second largest satellite of the planet Saturn. It was first discovered in 2017 thanks to the Cassini mission, Science Advances reports .
The device flew past the “moons” of the gas giant and recorded how sunlight is reflected from their surface. It turned out that on Rhea and some other bodies, something absorbs part of the light in the ultraviolet spectrum.
Scientists from the Institute of Planetary Science in California could not identify this substance for a long time. It was assumed to be some type of water ice.
During their experiments, they observed how light reflected from various compounds, and identified two of the most suitable candidates: hydrazine and chlorine.
Interestingly, hydrazine is found in rocket fuel. But scientists believe that Cassini could not have emitted pollution into Rhea's atmosphere because its engines did not start near her.
The authors of the scientific work came to the conclusion that the substance is of natural origin. There are no conditions for the formation of chlorine on Rhea, but the formation of hydrazine was recognized as possible. The connection could have come from reactions between the chemicals present on Rhea, or from the dense atmosphere of another moon, Titan.
“This is a possible explanation, but we still have to work to figure out why the connection is happening on other satellites. This is the key to some kind of process taking place in the entire system of Saturn, and possibly in other places, ”said lead author of the study, Amanda Hendrix.
It was previously reported that cyclopropenylidene was found on Titan. This molecule is considered a “harbinger of life.”
