Enceladus, Moon of Saturn


This photo of the Southern Hemisphere of Enceladus is a mosaic of 21 photos taken by the Cassini spacecraft. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Here’s a link to more photos of Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons from Boston.com.

Saturn’s tiny, icy moon Enceladus has recently been visited by NASA’s Cassini orbiter on several very close approaches – once coming within a mere 25 kilometers (15 miles) of the surface. Scientists are learning a great deal about this curious little moon. Only about 500 kilometers wide (310 miles), it is very active, emitting internal heat, churning its surface, and – through cryovolcanism – ejecting masses of microscopic ice particles into Saturnian orbit. Cassini has been orbiting Saturn for over 4 years now, and has provided some amazing views of tiny Enceladus, some collected here. Another close flyby is scheduled for Halloween, October 31st.

Hat tip to Wired’s Geek Dad blog

Jeffrey L Cohen

Jeffrey L Cohen