NASA scientists have used visuals to confirm that the Cassini probe has found a global ocean on Enceladus, which is Saturn’s sixth biggest moon.

Prior evaluation of Cassini’s information indicated the presence of a lens-shaped body of water, or sea, below the moon’s south polar area. Main author of the study published online this week in the journal Icarus, Peter Thomas said that around a year back some researchers began calculating Enceladus’ rotational wobble with the help of data obtained over a decade.

Consequently, they discovered Enceladus has a minor, but quantifiable wobble as it orbits Saturn.

NASA scientists also noticed that Enceladus has a wobbly orbit around its parent planet, Saturn, which is caused by the fact that the moon is not totally round in shape and by the gravity from Saturn pulling on it. This causes the orbit to be shaped unevenly.

The team plugged their measurement of the wobble, called a libration, into different models for how Enceladus might be arranged on the inside, including ones in which the moon was frozen from surface to core.

“If the surface and core were rigidly connected, the core would provide so much dead weight the wobble would be far smaller than we observe it to be”, said Matthew Tiscareno, a Cassini participating scientist at the SETI Institute, and a co-author of the paper.

The mechanisms that might have prevented Enceladus’ ocean from freezing still remain a mystery. It may be that Saturn’s gravitational pull generates more internal heat than previously suspected, or perhaps it’s hidden hydrothermal activity, as was suggested by a separate research team earlier this year. “Cassini has been exemplary in this regard”.

NASA stated that the new discovery shows an icy spray shot out from fissures in Enceladus’ South Pole comes from the ocean itself.

NASA scientists explained that it is possible for Enceladus to be habitable if the right circumstances are met. They explained that moons can support life if the host planet’s magnetic shielding is close enough to protect it from being hit with too much solar radiation.

Cassini is due to make another flyby on October 28, going as close as 30 miles above the moon’s surface – its deepest ever dive into the moons active plumes of icy material.