Mimas Our Icy Friend
On Thursday October 16th, scientists at CAPE CANAVERAL Fla. (Reuters) said "Saturn's battered moon Mimas may have a thin global ocean buried miles beneath its icy surface, raising the prospect of another "life-friendly" habitat in the solar system"
There are two possible explanations for why the Icy 400-mile diameter moon Mimas wobbles as it orbits Saturn. One reason could be that Mimas has an underground ocean, and the other is that Mimas's core is shaped like a rugby-ball.
According to the journal of Science, researchers wrote “The ocean hypothesis sounds unlikely because … Mimas’ heavily cratered surface has shown no evidence of liquid water, thermal heating or geological activities.” It can be likely however because when Mimas moves closer and farther from Saturn as it orbits, can cause enough friction from it's gravitation pull to heat ice on the moon and form an ocean. Mimas then can sustain the ocean by continual eccentric orbiting, and eventually create a suitable habitat for life on it.
The other theory is that Mimas and the rest Saturn's moon Enceladus, Tethys, Dione and Rhea, formed from a collection of rocks circling close to Saturn. Gravitational forces from Saturn then would sculpt Mimas's core into an oblong rugby-ball shape, that then was covered in ice.
I've always fantasized about living on Saturn; but now that I think of it, living near it might be better. Saturn isn't exactly fully solid like it's moon Mimas, and there would be a better view of Saturn and it's beautiful rings. It would be great if in the future when we figure out how to space travel faster and better, Mimas has it's own ecosystem safe enough for us to live on. I think Mimas does have an underground ocean, because I don't think it's uncommon. Mars has been reported to have water on it's surface before, and even clouds. As time passes the Sun gets warmer and the planets closer to the Sun get warmer, eventually a lot of planets and moons will warm. I know seeing it happen wouldn't be possible in our lifetime, and neither Mars of Mimas would be habitable but it can be a possibility for future generations. They could to live on Mars and near Saturn on Mimas or visit them as vacation spots. The two choices Douglas Quaid in Total Recall had for a vacation were Saturn and Mars, I love how the movie isn't too far off.
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