Enceladus, moon of Saturn



Saturn’s moon, Enceladus is found to be active. This is evident in the recent images from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. It captured jets of fine, icy particles streaming from the Saturn’s moon. Multiple jets emanating from the moon’s South Polar Region could be seen clearly. Scientists strongly suspected these jets to have risen from warm fractures in the region, on the basis of earlier data. The fractures, informally dubbed “tiger stripes,” are viewed essentially broadside in the new images.



It was at least 300 miles above the surface of Enceladus, the fainter, extended plume stretches. The moon is only 300 miles wide. In July, when it passed a few hundred kilometers above the moon, Cassini flew through the plume. And it was during that flyby; Cassini’s instruments measured the plume’s constituent water vapor and icy particles. As seen far back in January, it was a rigorous effort to demonstrate earlier apparitions of the plumes. The recent images were part of a sequence planned to confirm the presence of the plumes and examine them in finer detail.



Via: Eureka Alert