Cassini Flyby Shows Enceladus Venting
Explanation:
What's happening on the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus?
Enormous ice jets are erupting.
Giant plumes of ice have been
photographed in dramatic fashion by the robotic
Cassini spacecraft during this
past weekend's flyby of Saturn's moon Enceladus.
Pictured above, numerous
plumes are seen rising from long
tiger-stripe canyons across
Enceladus' craggy
surface.
Several ice jets are even visible in the shadowed region of
crescent Enceladus as they reach high enough to scatter sunlight.
Other plumes, near the top of the
above image, appear visible just over the moon's sunlit edge.
That
Enceladus vents
fountains of ice was first
discovered on Cassini images
in 2005, and has been under close study ever since.
Continued study of the
ice plumes may yield further clues as to whether underground
oceans,
candidates
for containing life, exist on this distant ice world.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
