Herschel:Herschel confirms Enceladus as primary water supply for Saturn's atmosphere

Observing Saturn, Herschel has detected evidence of water molecules in a huge torus surrounding the planet and centred on the orbit of its small moon, Enceladus. The water plumes on Enceladus, which were detected by the Cassini-Huygens mission, inject the water into the torus and part of it eventually precipitates into Saturn&aposs atmosphere. The new study has identified Enceladus as the primary water supply to Saturn&aposs upper atmosphere; this as the first example in the Solar System of a moon directly influencing the atmosphere of its host planet.