Overview
- Peer-reviewed results in Science Advances report the first observational evidence of significant heat flow at Enceladus’s north pole, overturning the notion that heat loss is confined to the south polar region.
- By comparing Cassini CIRS observations from deep winter 2005 and summer 2015, researchers found the north polar surface about 7 K warmer than models predicted, signaling endogenic heat leaking through the ice.
- The derived conductive flux of 46 ± 4 mW/m² corresponds to roughly 35 gigawatts of heat loss across the moon, which, combined with prior south-pole estimates, yields a total near 54 gigawatts.
- That total closely matches predicted tidal heating input of about 50–55 gigawatts, implying an energy balance that supports a stable, long-lived subsurface ocean with strong habitability potential.
- Thermal modeling also refines ice-shell thickness to about 20–23 km at the north pole and roughly 25–28 km on average globally, with authors prioritizing constraints on the ocean’s age and improved models to guide future missions.