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1. gaigalas · 1790520838 · focus · HN ↗

   The most interesting thing about Enceladus having life is the possibility of the natural dispersal mechanism.

   Life starts deep in the Enceladus ocean, gets jettisoned by the plume, parks on Saturn's rings which becomes a huge distribution mechanism. If one extremophile reaches there, it means we could find not only a source of life but a mechanism for panspermia.

   It is believed that the giant planets all develop and lose their rings over time, each time a moon is eaten. If the plumes are caused by Saturn's gravity perturbing the planet, it makes this mechanism highly plausible in all sorts of systems that have giants (and we know there's a lot of them).

   1. paimapi · 1790538330 · focus · HN ↗

      Saturn being basically a giant pollen-dense flower has an allegorical beauty to it

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