Oxygen discovered around Saturn's icy moonS  The moons of Saturn
and Jupiter are just getting more and more intriguing. While
many of those far-flung satellites might contain liquid oceans,
a new report indicates that Dione, one of Saturn's icy moons, is
surrounded by a thin layer of oxygen.  According to a new report
published in Geophysical Research Letters, Cassini detected a
thin layer of oxygen around the moon during its pass two years
ago. It's not enough to qualify as an atmosphere, so researchers
have dubbed it an "exosphere." The paper further suggests that
highly charged particles from Saturn's radiation belt split
Dione's ice water into hydrogen and oxygen, creating that small
exosphere.  Unfortunately, if we do find life among Jupiter or
Saturn's systems, it will have to be on another moon. Andrew
Coates, a co-author on the paper, says that because Dione has no
liquid water, it doesn't fulfill the conditions necessary to
support life.  Oxygen envelops Saturn's icy moon [BBC News via
TDW]  Image fr