Saturn's moon, Methone - potentially artificial?

[LaydeeDem]

We need to send stuff there now! Time to go protest on the US's budget!

I think the picture on the Wikipedia page implies we already sent something out to Saturn quite some time ago...

[Whirligig Girl]

So this is easter. It's an egg. The Easter-est celestial body in the universe is Methone.

[Everten P.]

What of it was a comet? Crazy theory, but if it was a comet that went close to the sun and had an orbit that stretched back to the Kuiper Belt... Couldn't it have a small chance to get caught in the gravity of Saturn? Being close to the sun might have made it not only hard to be hit by a meteorite but the solar energy would blast it to a relativly near perfect oval (egg thing) Before people start saying that it would be to unlikely that this would happen; your the ones who think its from aliens -.-

This may have a grammatical error so just get the point

Edited April 20, 2014 by Everten P.
Possible grammar error

[Everten P.]

Well, there are those that suppose that Iapetus is also an abandoned alien spacecraft, albeit bigger, and not egg-shaped.

On top of this, arguments have been made for Phobos as well. All of these scenarios seem unlikely to me. Very unlikely.

But why spacecraft? It is after all egg-shaped. Why could it not be a dragon egg?

Is there anything we know about this moon that prohibits it being a dragon egg?

A bit....

[Endersmens]

Guys!! Don't you see? it's a real life easter egg. It magic boulders less aggresive cousin, magic egg. Bet theres a monolith on it.

[lajoswinkler]

yay! space booze!

It's methanol. Not exactly something you'd want to drink.

What of it was a comet? Crazy theory, but if it was a comet that went close to the sun and had an orbit that stretched back to the Kuiper Belt... Couldn't it have a small chance to get caught in the gravity of Saturn? Being close to the sun might have made it not only hard to be hit by a meteorite but the solar energy would blast it to a relativly near perfect oval (egg thing) Before people start saying that it would be to unlikely that this would happen; your the ones who think its from aliens -.-

This may have a grammatical error so just get the point

Comets are usually extremely dark. Methone is probably all jagged like a normal comet/asteroid, but has accumulated lots of icy fluff from the rings on it surface. Its gravity is very weak, so the fluff is being successfully distorted by the tidal forces into an eggy shape.

[lajoswinkler]

Well, there are those that suppose that Iapetus is also an abandoned alien spacecraft, albeit bigger, and not egg-shaped.

On top of this, arguments have been made for Phobos as well. All of these scenarios seem unlikely to me. Very unlikely.

But why spacecraft? It is after all egg-shaped. Why could it not be a dragon egg?

Is there anything we know about this moon that prohibits it being a dragon egg?

Damn, that site you've linked is filled with some totally pothead-insane material.

Oh, it's this guy's site. I get it now.

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Richard_C._Hoagland

Edited April 22, 2014 by lajoswinkler

[pxi]

Damn, that site you've linked is filled with some totally pothead-insane material.

Oh, it's this guy's site. I get it now.

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Richard_C._Hoagland

Indeed.

I'd love for him to be right, but pragmatically I guess I have to settle for him just being highly entertaining.

EDIT:

I occasionally wonder if he knows he's been kerbalized?

Edited April 22, 2014 by pxi

[vger]

just because something is weird doesn't mean we need to jump to the conclusion of aliens.

if it does turn out to be a giant chicken, dibs on the white meat.

We don't have access to the chicken, just the egg. The chicken went off to Andromeda looking for a new mate.

[MartGonzo]

You're all insane talking about giant space chickens

it's obviously a turtles egg

[pxi]

Please consider that unlike chickens and turtles, dragons breathe fire. Just like rockets.

My logic here is unassailable.

[jwenting]

You're all insane talking about giant space chickens

it's obviously a turtles egg

De Chelonian Mobile!

[vger]

Please consider that unlike chickens and turtles, dragons breathe fire. Just like rockets.

My logic here is unassailable.

Good point. Any space-going critter needs to be able to breathe fire, so it can get from point A to B.

The turtle has some merit though. I've heard some say that our planet is riding on the back of one. Maybe it laid that egg before it picked our current orbit?

[Everten P.]

It's methanol. Not exactly something you'd want to drink.

Comets are usually extremely dark. Methone is probably all jagged like a normal comet/asteroid, but has accumulated lots of icy fluff from the rings on it surface. Its gravity is very weak, so the fluff is being successfully distorted by the tidal forces into an eggy shape.

So... I could be right lajoswrinkler?

[lajoswinkler]

So... I could be right lajoswrinkler?

Yes, you could. Saturn, Uranus and Neptune have lots of captured stuff around them.

[Ralathon]

Methone isn't even the weirdest moon around Saturn. For example, there's this little critter:

This is Iapetus. It has a mountain ridge the perfectly follows the equator and almost circles the planet. Almost as if it came from a huge casting mold. We also have Mimas which looks like the deathstar. Hyperion, which has a consistency like styrofoam.

The Saturn system produces some weird moons.

[lajoswinkler]

God I hate the look of Hyperion. Makes me want to scratch my flesh off.

I do like Iapetus, a lot. Ablate from Krag's Planet Factory reminds me of it.

[Scotius]

Maybe Saturn system is a training ground for young Magratheans

[YNM]

It might have been formed in a way similar to this : http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2014/04/15/saturn_cassini_may_have_photographed_the_birth_of_a_moon.html

So I suppose congratulations are in order for Saturn on its possible new moon … but it’s funny. Saturn is the Roman name for the Greek god Cronus (or Cronos), who was known for eating all his children to prevent them from overthrowing him (when you get down to it, a lot of the ancient myths are really, really horrid). But now we find out the opposite is true! The smaller moons may have been birthed by Saturn (or at least, its rings) and moved out before they could get eaten.

[DJEN]

How dense is it?

[Redjoker]

How dense is it?

Mean density

0.31+0.05

−0.03 g/cm3

from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methone_(moon)