Enceladus Q's

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brellis

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As I look at the icy trails in Cassini's recent pics of Enceladus, many questions come to mind:<br /><br />Could Enceladus be a comet?<br /><br />What ice vs. dirt consistency is required for an object to be called a comet?<br /><br />Do comets have geysers?<br /><br />How long can an object continue to emit these glorious trails of icy matter before its supply runs out?<br /><br />Were the geysers always there? Are there any old pics of Enceladus <i>sans</i> geysers? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#ff0000"><em><strong>I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better.</strong></em></font> </p> </div>
 
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MeteorWayne

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It is not a comet because it is a planet's moon.<br />Were it to be ejected from that orbit and travel inside the asteroid belt, it would certainly be a comet, as would Pluto, hundreds of KBO's, and dozens of moons from Jupiter outward.<br /><br />If yer made up of a lot of ices, when you get close to Mars' orbit, ye sublimate yer ices!!<br /><br />Pssssssssssst <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>
 
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brellis

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tanks fer da eddication! Feels like I just took a whole astronomy course <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#ff0000"><em><strong>I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better.</strong></em></font> </p> </div>
 
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vogon13

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Voyager 1 pictures of Enceladus didn't show much.<br /><br />Voyager 2 showed interesting deformed and sundered craters, but I don't recall anything even remotely geyser like.<br /><br />IIRC, Voyager imaged more of the northern hemisphere in any regard, and the geysers seem to be pretty much clustered around the south pole.<br /><br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>
 
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qso1

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Of course, some redefinition of comet would be required or at least considered. Comet nucleus is typically 5 to 25 miles in diameter. Enceladus is many times larger as is Pluto and some KBOs.<br /><br />We can have giant comets, medium comets, and dwarf comets. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>
 
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