Unusual Red Arcs Spotted on Icy Saturn Moon

www.nasa.gov...

Like graffiti sprayed by an unknown artist, unexplained arc-shaped, reddish streaks are visible on the surface of Saturn's icy moon Tethys in new, enhanced-color images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

The red arcs are narrow, curved lines on the moon's surface, and are among the most unusual color features on Saturn's moons to be revealed by Cassini's cameras.

"The red arcs must be geologically young because they cut across older features like impact craters, but we don't know their age in years." said Paul Helfenstein, a Cassini imaging scientist at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, who helped plan the observations. "If the stain is only a thin, colored veneer on the icy soil, exposure to the space environment at Tethys' surface might erase them on relatively short time scales."

No one knows what created the marks, so I don't have much else to add, but If I had to guess I'd say a space dinosaur was killed and drug across the surface.

Primordial oz seeping to the surface?

can't wait to see what they come up with.

a reply to: mahatche

Looks like God's kid was playing with crayons.

It is the blood of my enemies. My rage extends beyond Earth's Sphere of Influence.

originally posted by: greencmp
a reply to: mahatche

Looks like God's kid was playing with crayons.

Lol are you blaming Jesus? How dare you!

originally posted by: ScientificRailgun
It is the blood of my enemies. My rage extends beyond Earth's Sphere of Influence.

Thy vengeance I do not mock oh lord!

Tethys was used for target practice by the Venusian Space Navy long long ago. Those are just whats left of the target rings that were painted on the surface.

I think the way the color is spread across the moon in arcs, is more telling of how it could have been formed. Im no geologist, but maybe it was formed as some celestial object crossed paths with the moon, spreading the red matter, as the moon orbited. Who knows, maybe this is where some of saturns rings disappeared too.

Tidal flexing? Perhaps more liquid or viscous material is below the surface. How else can you get fresh streaks like that? Top corner makes a chevron with a crisp point. Do we have another Europa type moon? Just how active is she?

No doubt the color isn't actually red so...

a reply to: mahatche

Looks like algae.
en.wikipedia.org...

ETA: Tethys is mostly water ice as well... en.wikipedia.org...

It is not outside the realm of possibility that it is indeed a form of algae.

a reply to: Rosinitiate

They did say it was an "enhanced" color image.

Not necessarily a "false" color image, but you're correct, it may not actually be red at all.

It could be the product of some oxidation on the surface, say if oxygen from a passing comet or other object interacted with any surface metals/minerals.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Oxides of some kind.

Edit: looks like someone mentioned around the same time I posted...

originally posted by: VoidFire
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Oxides of some kind.

Look above you.

originally posted by: Glassbender777
I think the way the color is spread across the moon in arcs, is more telling of how it could have been formed. Im no geologist, but maybe it was formed as some celestial object crossed paths with the moon, spreading the red matter, as the moon orbited. Who knows, maybe this is where some of saturns rings disappeared too.

Perhaps. They also look more recent than the impact craters.

Could it be possible that it is a seam of something that is red? Like we see a coal seam. It could go all the way through and we are only seeing the edges.

a reply to: VoidFire

I was gonna say maybe it was something similar to oxidized minerals. Not that I know what Oxides are but I'm guessing its something similar.

a reply to: mahatche

Hey, are our buddies over at NASA putting up screenshots from Warcraft III, Frozen Throne?

originally posted by: IanFleming

originally posted by: Glassbender777
I think the way the color is spread across the moon in arcs, is more telling of how it could have been formed. Im no geologist, but maybe it was formed as some celestial object crossed paths with the moon, spreading the red matter, as the moon orbited. Who knows, maybe this is where some of saturns rings disappeared too.

Perhaps. They also look more recent than the impact craters.

it's defiantly more recent than all the features it's passing through, that's what makes it most intriguing to me. Since it's a icy moon I'm guessing a liquid from beneath the surface seeped through.

THANOS KEEPS HIS WORD!

Is anyone seeing an optical illusion with the picture. To me its pulsating in and out slowly. Must be just my eyes.

I'd go with the comparison made with the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa, which has similar streaking, but much more populated. Europa is considered a young formation, I presume the streaks there are even younger.