The scientists in charge of the study were able to observeextremely small ice crystals that line the surface of the satelliteby means of global and high-resolution cartographic techniques from readings obtained by the probeCassini, a joint NASA, ESA, and ASI space mission that has been studying the planet Saturn and its various natural satellites since 2004. These surface layer measurements show that ice particles fall to the surface of Enceladus in predictable patterns. As shown in the findings, these deposits indicate that the plumes and their heat source have been relatively permanent features for millennia and probably even tens of millions of years or more. During this time they have covered areas of the surface with a huge layer of tiny ice particles.
In earlier work, astronomers from the Max Planck Institute and the University of Potsdam found that, under Saturn’s gravity, the particles returned to Enceladus in a definite pattern. This allowed them to predict that the most intense accumulation would be found along two lengths on opposite faces of the satellite.
The difficulty lies in determining the thickness of these layers of snow. Models of particle deposition indicate that the speed of this process in Enceladus is extremely slow in terrestrial terms, less than a thousandth of a millimeter a year. For a layer of deposits 100 meters thick to accumulate, several tens of millions of years have to pass.
However, Paul Schenk, co-author of the work, warns space skiers enthusiasts of the future that practicing the sport would be somewhat complicated by theextremely weak gravity of the satellite (1% of the earth’s). But when it came to the snow itself, he insisted that it would be “even finer than talcum powder” and in all probability “the finest a skier can dream of.”
