Disruptive Collision of Two Small Moons (IMAGE)
Caption
A Southwest Research Institute study published in Nature Astronomy looks at what happens with oceans when icy moons experience catastrophic events. This simulation shows a disruptive collision between two small moons. Some material is dispersed into space while the rest consolidates and forms what is essentially a second-generation moon. If the moon is large enough it will retain a submerged ocean, but smaller moons may lose it.
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Southwest Research Institute
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