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