Sentences with phrase «tidal stresses»
According to Benna, this transient source of argon may be the result of enhanced outgassing from the surface that is triggered by tidal stress on the moon.
sciencedaily.com
Passing within about 100,000 kilometers, or roughly a quarter of the Earth — moon distance, the researchers propose that asteroids feel a sufficient influence from Earth's gravity to induce what Binzel calls «a little bit of tidal stress, a little tug - of - war with the Earth.»
Now, scientists at the University of Chicago and Princeton University have pinpointed a mechanism by which cyclical tidal stresses exerted by Saturn can drive Enceladus's long - lived eruptions.
Large cracks could last for a few thousand years, the researchers say, but as Europa rotates relative to Jupiter, tidal stress points in the crust would change, and cracks would periodically freeze shut.
Researchers think the moon's icy crust may be just a few kilometres thick — perhaps thin enough to crack open under tidal stresses and allow life in the oceans below to flourish by absorbing the Sun's energy.
They applied Saturn's tidal stresses to their model on a desktop computer and watched what happened.
«The only tricky part quantitatively is calculating the elastic interactions between the different slots and the varying water level within each slot as a response to the tidal stress,» Kite explained.
The different properties of the Medicean moons — from Io's volcanism and Europa's ocean to Ganymede's magnetism — can all be traced to their relative nearness to Jupiter and the strength of the tidal stresses they endure as they orbit the planet.
The tidal stresses compress the vents at the south pole region when Europa is closest to Jupiter, and stretch them when Europa is furthest away, making it possible for the vents to open up.
Jupiter's small moon Io is volcanically active due to tidal stresses, and as a result sulfur deposits have accumulated on the surface.
«The daily variations in the tidal stresses from Saturn due to that eccentricity distort Enceladus and dump gigawatts of frictional heat into its interior,» Spencer wrote.