Phosphorus detected in Saturn’s moon Enceladus’ water ocean!

Phosphorus is one of the key ingredients of life here on Earth - and is a building block of the DNA molecule. Finding phosphorus containing molecules in the water plumes from the south pole of Enceladus (Saturn’s moon) is therefore a BIG DEAL!
👩🏽‍💻 I'm Dr. Becky Smethurst, an astrophysicist at the University of Oxford (Christ Church). I love making videos about science with an unnatural level of enthusiasm. I like to focus on how we know things, not just what we know. And especially, the things we still don't know. If you've ever wondered about something in space and couldn't find an answer online - you can ask me! My day job is to do research into how supermassive black holes can affect the galaxies that they live in. In particular, I look at whether the energy output from the disk of material orbiting around a growing supermassive black hole can stop a galaxy from forming stars.
drbecky.uk.com
rebeccasmethur...

[@chadd1428]

Another perfect loop. I love the "molecules are president" blooper too 😅

[@punchkitten874]

It's gotta be Jimmy, he didn't become concentrated until he left

[@haggis0breath]

🥄

[@haggis0breath]

exciting news! thanks dr Becky!

[@rogerj.fugere3570]

President and accounted for.

[@Svensk7119]

Well said!

[@miri64]

Elements for president! 🤪

[@spacemanmat]

Have you seen the president we have? Would be a step up.

[@MustafaAlmosawi]

Science is hard, words are harder 😂

[@FLPhotoCatcher]

@@spacemanmat To be fair, he reeks of the element sulfur.

[@setoman1]

I want a white (phosphorus) president.

[@ENDESGA]

I honestly would not be surprised if there's full-on life forms just swimming - and we're a few years away from discovering this. How exciting!

[@okidokidraws]

People are going to be surprised when we first find life and its not what they expect probably 5 times out of 10 it will probably be ocean style lifeforms

[@peabody3000]

in my somewhat unscientific opinion, i think enceladus is very likely barren. on one hand lifeforms could conceivably survive there, but could they originate there? even with all of the chemical ingredients present, having them all mixed together in a purely liquid and cold medium, and not having a terrestrial surface for substances to concentrate in, nor things like lightening etc which lend to a dynamic environment for chemistry, it seems like maybe it's beyond a long shot for biology to evolve from the starting point

[@verraguid]

you woud be itd be earthshattering for us all

[@k1ng5urfer]

@@peabody3000 I never bought the whole lighting theory but thats just me. I reckon more likely it happened at the subsea vents where theres huge temperature, pressure, salinity, and energy gradients present and actively swirling around throwing out all the necessary ingredients. I reckon surface life and photosynthetics evolved second decending from chemosynthetic organisms. If that was the case then solid chance that enceladeus and potentially a few other moons stand a solid chance at harboring life.

[@peabody3000]

@@k1ng5urfer there's a study from a few decades ago that showed by combining primordial substances in basically a test tube and electrifying them akin to lightening, organic compounds were produced.. not life itself of course, nor pre-biotic structures, but things like aminos and such. since light alters chemistry, provides warmth, and concentrates liquids via evaporation, i believe it's a likely suspect of generating life. my take on underwater life being generated is, the potential ingredients are diluted and don't have much of a chance to come together and stay together the way things in puddles on the ground do, so that's where much of my doubt come from on that. but that's just me and my $.02

[@user-pm7fv9dt6j]

*I like how her eyes are actually lit up*

[@MonkeyJedi99]

Oh! I just assumed she had Galadriel magic.

[@JezzBowden]

That’ll be the lights shinning in her face

[@zedmelon]

@@JezzBowden > _shinning_ Is that the new dance all the kids are doing these days?

[@ulrar]

The elements are president indeed

[@kurtsnyder4752]

It's a precedent for the life celebration 🎉.

[@arthurcamargo8416]

Your editor needs a raise! The way it sounds like an infinite loop is awesome! Merfolk? Hmm.... All this time sailors were seeing Enceladans! (I know it's not really a sign of "life" but the possibility is greater...

[@DrBecky]

My editor is me 🤗 I’ll give myself a raise in wine 🍷

[@benketteridge9150]

Becky, you are SO good at the circular videos - where the end wraps round seemlessly to the beginning.

[@gerardbryant1445]

Phosphorus for president! That has a nice ring to it!

[@magister343]

Certainly sounds like a better option than Biden, Trump, or DeSantis.

[@blazedgamingkr1438]

That loop. Absolute perfection.

[@critterhighland8427]

Perhaps!! Lol

[@mikepatterson6416]

Well done Dr. Becky! Your enthusiasm is infectious! (You should charge for it somehow.)

[@NaughtyShepherd]

Never mind life on other planets, the real mystery is how are you doing these perfect loops?

[@kamaredrache]

As far as I can tell, the end of the video and the start of the video are one single take, just cut so the video starts with "Is there life in the solar system".

[@kevinsayes]

@@kamaredrachethis. And use the graphics to hide the cut. Dr B is quite good at it

[@AndrewJohnson-oy8oj]

Did not think that Enceladus would be our best candidate.

[@Prometheus7272]

Europa could be too, they both have similar reasons for being candidates.

[@carlosenriquez2092]

Hopefully this will be the beginning sign that phosphorus is perhaps more commonly available in the galaxy than previously thought. Without it human expansion into the Galaxie will be made very difficult.

[@barry8642]

Yes your figuring things out life is everywhere. It's out there everywhere

[@lordpochinki2112]

Your eyes are so cool and those reflection of light makes it way more cool

[@spy2778]

Imagine being a little creature, happily swimming around in the deep ocean, when all of a sudden you find yourself shot out of the moon through a cryovolcano.

[@matgeezer2094]

Enceladus and Europa are both top candidates for life. Europa in particular - its a racing certainty that it's got volcanoes at the bottom of a deep ocean - very similar environment to the volcanoes on the abyssal plains found in the Pacific

[@deanlawson6880]

I would be very VERY surprised if the under-Ice oceans on Europa, Ganymede, Enceladus, etc.. are NOT teeming with life of all sorts.. Think of the life around undersea volcanic vents here in our own oceans. That's what I envision existing in abundance on all those oceans on all those moons.. Definitely.

[@aeniln57]

Well played on the perfectly loopable short... Well played...

[@dmm8658]

What was the science instrument on board Cassini that was exposed to the phosphorus bearing molecules, and how did it differentiate them from other molecules?

[@stevelaw3886]

A mass spectrometer I would guess, if not other detectors

[@lpetrich]

Phosphorus may or may not be necessary in other biochemistries, and if it is, it may not necessarily be part of the carriers of heredity, as it is in our biota. It’s hard for me to see why it is supposed to be as fundamentally necessary as (say) hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, or oxygen.

[@TheDMFW62]

I'm excited for the JUICE mission, but I can't help but wonder if Enceladus might be an easier nut to crack when it comes to accessing a sub surface ocean. How amazing would it be if some future probe could take advantage of the guizers in the tiger stripes and use them as natural channels to get below the crust? Kind of a Jules Verne "Journey to the Centre of Enceledus". Maybe one day!

[@larrywest42]

They should name a mission to Enceladus "ELECTROLYTES"

[@LouseGrouse]

Saturn Icy moons exPlorer Probe (and) observatorY we SIPPY da JUICE

[@patreekotime4578]

The pressures exerted in that ocean have to be insane. Deep sea diving equipment is *VERY* heavy. An orbital observatory able to continually monitor the plumes as they erupt is probably better than landing on the surface or trying to get under the crust.

[@TheDMFW62]

@@patreekotime4578 Oh yes, for sure to begin with. This would have to be a long term goal and far from easy! I'm not expecting it to happen without preparitory missions and certainly not in my lifetime. But the pressure in the oceans might not be as bad as you think given that Enceladus is only a relatively small moon. Just found a reference estimating 50 to 100 bar at the bottom and just getting to the liquid layer would be hugely interesting, where pressures would be far less.

[@michaellong5714]

So, now there are at least two bodies in just our Solar System that have phosphorus associated with them...and one has life. I'd suggest that the chances of other bodies in the universe with the building block requirement chemicals have now increased, which now increases the chance of life.

[@pms9838]

Yeah phosphorus was a real eye catcher 😮🎉

[@larrywest42]

As the saying goes, "where you find P, C, N, S, H2O, and energy, amino acids can't be far behind!"

[@Ratchet4647]

Great loop! And great video overall. This was very cool. When I heard phosphorus you got me interested but when I heard phosphates! That was super exciting. That's just a few reactions removed from a making a nucleotide! Just needs a sugar and a nitrogenous base!

[@Dunybrook]

Always seems unlikely to me given we still really don't understand how life got started on Earth.

[@EnglishMike]

Unlikely but if it does exist there it would be a huge step forward in our quest for understanding abiogenesis. Two independent samples are far better than one.

[@user-yd2lg7oe7y]

Ppl don't realise how important of a discovery it really is, with all the other elements it's pretty much guaranteed life is in Enceladus

[@ShannonWare]

JC! "Raising the question" and then loops your right back in!!!

[@kamathln]

You need to de-ess your Audio. Came to your video after a few others. It is noticable even after usimg slight equalization to fix my earphone's tendency to increase essing (using "neutralizer" app). Love your content❤

[@angelamccollister]

Enceladus is my second favorite place in the solar system. Earth is first, of course. I wish they were going to Enceladus instead of Titan.

[@protocol6]

Phosphorus For President! (That'd make good merch)

[@AlanCanon2222]

"Science used to move in broad strokes. But nowadays, it's just, 'Molecule, molecule, molecule!'" -- The Tick. Awesome news of phosphorus in the E-Ring! Thanks, Doctor Becky!

[@williammorales-gonzalez1637]

absolutely. It's the INTELLIGENCE that's rare!!🤘😀❤

[@deemcgann1695]

So rare it’s yet to be observed in the galaxy at all

[@hadiisaboss5307]

​@@deemcgann1695so true

[@thomasfevre9515]

For those excited aboutvthe prospect of life: remember that life here on earth is sustained by the continuous exposition to light from the sun and the further away you go, the less of this you get. Now you can have alternate source of energy like chemical reaction from some metals which is a thing in the bottom of the ocean butcit would then be limited in scope and size.

[@djwaffle]

Knowing a reactive like P is there make me think the water is teaming with energy. Considering phosphates are required for DNA and RNA it opens the world up for the soup of life. Very exciting... I can't wait to see more...

[@lreid1457]

The subsurface probe would mysteriously reappear in Earth orbit tied with a note: We don't talk to messenger bots!

[@Wyndorn]

Coincidentally I discovered phosphorus on my enchilada.

[@EnglishMike]

I hope you got a refund...

[@georgefleming4956]

How else loves how Dr Becky says “Saturn”

[@jadedbrad]

We use phosphorus for farming and it washes away every time we till the soil. We have a 400 year supply. Maybe. Best time to act was 50 years ago. 2nd best: today.

[@maliwilliams7262]

As a CHILD, I thought this was a Dumb Question...as an ELDER, it's EXASPERATING!!

[@joeyvelarde5562]

Dr Becky 🌹✌🏽

[@Andrewbert109]

I for one am enjoying these looped shorts that everyone is making, and they don't confuse me into watching them multiple times at all. I'm just kidding that always happens but i don't mind

[@Xeridanus]

I have loop disabled so initially I thought the ending was another blooper.

[@tayet6875]

Perfect loop😊

[@shinystarmiestudios4179]

With that, Enceladus joins Europa in having all 6 of the necessary elements for life.

[@mintonmiller]

We still have not figure it out if there is any truly intelligent life on earth

[@matthewdugan4044]

Planets that are concentrated in higher levels that we feel are essential to linegates the ability of life it's to pure and concentrated

[@malcolmnew8973]

Another perfect loop round Enceladus and the E ring, "is life president"?

[@pablosjouke]

"Ingredients that you need for life are president"😂

[@Arthur-zz5cu]

Why the poles? Because the poles is where the Birkland currents enter and exit. The plumes aren't being "fired". They are being carried away by the currents.

[@genghisgalahad8465]

I believe the intent was "precedent" which makes sense that it would precede the discovery! 🔥 🧊 🌕 🪐 🌞 💧

[@r92871]

Space is so cool

[@AanujPatel-ww3iv]

very nice very good very best information thank you

[@LightDiodeNeal]

Many many years of fun, thanks for all the hours of educating entertainment! :-D x 10^6

[@Armymum13]

Ok I have to ask… what color nail polish do you have on???? I love it!!!

[@thomasw4422]

It looks a lot like 450 "reflection pool"

[@DrBecky]

It’s called “This colour’s making waves” from the OPI Hawaii collection (from many years ago) 🤓

[@markrix]

love the excitement

[@TheGreyAreaBetween]

The question I always wonder is whether or not we limit our views too much over what potential life forms can handle. We look for places in the galaxy and universe in general for planets and moons that may be able to support the kind of life we know and understand on earth. We look at a planet like Jupiter or Saturn as a place life couldn't exist because we do not have the necessary structure to survive within such an atmosphere, in such harsh conditions. Is it possible that life forms could exist on various other types of planets that we are not aware of because their composition would have to be so unique in comparison to anything we know, or is life limited to what we know? Exploring the oceans we have found things surviving and thriving in places we never dreamed possible. If there's intelligent life forms somewhere on a planet with a 12× gravitational pull in comparison to earth, they may have created transport far beyond our capabilities, but for them to head into space could be impossible purely because 0G could kill them in the same way -11G would kill us, or the 12G of their planet would. Everything I suggest is theoretical and I do not have the kind of science background to back anything like this up, so if someone smart comes along and tells me reasons why it couldn't work, I would be happy to know and understand more. Just know that it might take some breaking down to idiot level science for me if you do this. I love to learn and understand more so feel free to add logic and sensibility to my theory here if you wish.

[@joen0411]

Has there been any thought about how we would study life if we found it on one of Saturn or Jupiter’s moons? Assuming we ever find something bigger than a microscopic organism. At some point someone is going to want to kill it and cut it open to study. Finding something would at first be great news but then I’d immediately regret that we did knowing what it would eventually lead to.

[@EnglishMike]

There's been lots of thought by astrobiologists, and no doubt a bunch of papers published too, but the odds of it between anything bigger than microbial life after extremely small. Single cell life too billions of years to evolved in to multicellular life here on Earth. The biggest problem will be how to reach Enceladus's oceans without contaminating them so (a) we don't harm any life we find there and (b) we can be certain it from Enceladus and not something the spacecraft brought from Earth.

[@tbrooke3016]

How have we not sorted a mission to drill through the ice. We've been excited about some of the moons of Saturn for sooooo long I swear. It so cool!!!!

[@indianasb59]

Intriguing, that phosphorus is such a poisonous chemical for humans when ingested by pop/soda. Phosphorus can dissolve a concrete or asphalt pavement.

[@joab757]

Now it just needs the other 2,456,345 things to occur perfectly for life to arise

[@user-or6wq5zx7u]

We are FOOLS to believe there is no other life ANYWHERE

[@jaydonbooth4042]

Reminds me of the hype over Venus having phosphine a while back, and how that turned out to be nothing. Hopefully this detection turns out to be real because it's definitely adding to the excitement of icy outer solar system moons.

[@RobertSaxy]

What a great edit for a perfect loop

[@matthewdugan4044]

Life begins and works and happens in the same way the process of baking bread happens or baking. The levels the environment the heat the compounds and their concentrations all have to be perfect

[@Jaloman90]

Molecules for president!

[@underwatermoon]

Great video! Just wondering though, isn’t the ring that was highlighted the f-ring? I usually depict the e-ting to be very wide, like the ring in the video, that comes after the highlighted one.

[@kdog3908]

ATP Adenosine Triphosphate! Life's energy carrier! OOoooooo!

[@RoboJules]

There's more fresh water, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in our Solar System than we could ever dream of here on Earth. Once we colonize the solar system, we will have access to resources that could feed and power us for millions of years to come.

[@richardyoung5293]

phosphorus phosphorus sing out that glorious phosphorus!!!

[@RinnzuRosendale]

If there is, that's bad. But also cool.

[@BreandanAnraoi]

Molecules for President!

[@timmymeredith7499]

I'm sticking with Arthur c Clark Europa

[@Mark-fl3kx]

Necessary for life on Earth, maybe not necessary on another planet (or moon).

[@chrix6831]

Enceladus is full of structures and domes i wouldn't b surprised if we find life there

[@AlfonsoSegundo791]

Not only life. Having phosphorus they can also smoke easily.

[@Toastonbeans885]

But what if there is another life form but it is completely different and doesn’t need any essentials for life like us

[@intothisworld]

Brilliant!

[@467076]

There’s is definitely life outside of earth, anyone saw the recent Vegas alien sighting 👀

[@user-dh8gj1pk8n]

While we build for healthy bodies molecules at regeneration cells we can copied with DNA RNA recovery to enhance digging power (mitochondria growth) etc in exploration of space precious metals

[@johnwishart7950]

i think it is only a matter of time for us to see life in other places but then you have a lot of people believing that we can travel as far as light travels in star trek and such like

[@otavainen222]

That's awesome!

[@SunblokAnsand]

It's like how you know your roommate didn't clean the microwave. Loads of evidence, maybe a bean.... you don't need to see the burrito to think that it's highly possible a burrito existed.

[@toyboxlemonza3293]

Life is either everywhere or nowhere. It's one element Beck, don't get excited. You can have everything you need to make a cake yet have no cake until you make it.

[@jaykrappenshitz4992]

I woulda been so disappointed if'n i was the only one that caught that there are ingredients president on Saturn's moon 🤣😂

[@milemarker301]

Wonderfully exciting news :)

[@donkramer8848]

Those eyes though, damn’

[@ChrissiX]

The more we explore, the more things like this we find. GREAT! I am sure people have thought about this, but I have not heard these discussions or news bits... Yes, these things are the building blocks of life, but if someone was looking at earth for signs of life. Are these things we would find in abundance flowing from the planet earth?

[@setoman1]

Arsenic works just as well.

[@jvdl-dev]

Phosphorus for president!

[@chromeinox]

Someone smart said: the definition of insanity is asking the same old question over and over again and expecting a different answer every time... 👽

[@drsatan9617]

Einstein said that about trying the same experiment and always getting the same results This doesn't happen in science. We do different tests and get a wide variety of results

[@janpietercornet9364]

Phosphorus is also the main ingredient in matches. So not only is there life, but it invented fire, too. On an ocean planet no less. I think we finally found spongebob!

[@TannerSwizel]

I'm really hoping cheaper super heavy launchers will enable us to finally get to launch thousands of probes all across our solar system. There are just too many ridiculously awesome things in our own celestial backyard that feel teasingly out of reach

[@EnglishMike]

That's not going to happen. Be optimistic, but temper your expectations a little, so you won't be disappointed when that doesn't happen!

[@mike42441]

Hey, anyone up for an ice-fishing weekend getaway on Enceladus? Word is the Phosphorus Fish out there are plentiful.

[@frankowot4]

I love the planet Satin.

[@jessa1895]

It’s going to be funny when we find out life regularly forms on moons and we’re the weird kid in the block that formed on a planet

[@3tpculp]

Required for life or required for life as we have it?

[@3tpculp]

@kraigstclair2841 ah, you do realize that just because life on Earth (as we have it) REQUIRES certain minerals it doesn't mean other life requires the same , RIGHT?

[@nickinflorida777]

So intricate and complex information comes from elements....wonder what the probability of that was.

[@drsatan9617]

No one has ever been able to provide an equation to calculate that Theists lie about it but none of them can produce any scientific articles published to accredited science journals which explains the equations they can't seem to provide

[@nickinflorida777]

Romans 1:20

[@ajlucky0076]

If we have found all the ingredients for life on our own solar system, then just think about how common it is in the whole universe