The Cassini spacecraft, in orbit around Saturn, has sent back some exhilarating images of the Saturnian moon Enceladus. The spacecraft successfully completed it’s scheduled flyby of the small Saturnian moon on the 28th of October at 4:22 pm UTC. It flew 49 kilometers above the moon’s south pole.
The moon’s south pole is very interesting, because it is the location of the geysers that are present on Enceladus. They release plumes, whose composition is not known with certainty yet, but it’s expected data from this flyby will enlighten us to what they are made of. This flyby was the deepest plunge into Enceladus’ plumes ever attempted.
From these plumes, one could identify whether organic compounds vital to life are found beneath it’s surface, where there are strong hints of an ocean, an ocean which probably covers the entire surface underneath all the ice. These plumes have also long been identified as the source of Saturn’s largest ring, the E-ring.
The moon’s south pole is very interesting, because it is the location of the geysers that are present on Enceladus. They release plumes, whose composition is not known with certainty yet, but it’s expected data from this flyby will enlighten us to what they are made of. This flyby was the deepest plunge into Enceladus’ plumes ever attempted.
From these plumes, one could identify whether organic compounds vital to life are found beneath it’s surface, where there are strong hints of an ocean, an ocean which probably covers the entire surface underneath all the ice. These plumes have also long been identified as the source of Saturn’s largest ring, the E-ring.
 |
| Plumes on Enceladus, courtesy of Caltech/JPL |
Enceladus may be tiny, but it is one of the few geologically active moons in the Solar System. The cryovolcanism on Enceladus is not the only one in the Solar System. On Neptune’s moon Triton and Saturn’s other interesting moon Titan, there are strong evidences of crovolcanoes. Titan also has a very Earth-like surface, with dunes, river valleys, lakes, and even sporadic rain. However, the rain on Titan is composed of hydrocarbons and the rocks in Titan are made of water-ice.
Enceladus also has contrasted surface composition. One side of it appears old and full of craters, whereas the other part seems young and recently formed. Another interesting fact about Enceladus is that it is one of the most reflective bodies in the Solar System, with a bond albedo (light reflection capacity) of nearly 100%! As such, it has chilly mean surface temperatures of just 75 K.
 |
| Cryovolcanism- An artist’s impression |
Cassini’s mission is set to continue until 2017, as a result of an extension that took place in 2008. It will continue to shed light on some of the mysteries of the Saturn system, as well as enthrall us with extraordinary pictures such as this one.
Bijaya's creations 