Enceladus seen expelling methanol into space
Surprise discovery in the moon’s gaseous plumes
An unexpectedly large quantity of methanol has been detected around one of Saturn’s moons, Enceladus. Researchers from the UK were able to use the IRAM 30m radio telescope in the Spanish Sierra Nevada in order to detect a methanol signature around Enceladus. This is the first time that researchers were able to detect a molecule from Enceladus using a ground-based telescope and the work was presented at the National Astronomy Meeting 2017 in Hull.