Waspie_Dwarf Posted July 12, 2017 Author #26 Share Posted July 12, 2017 Zoom-in on Epimetheus Quote This zoomed-in view of Epimetheus, one of the highest resolution ever taken, shows a surface covered in craters, vivid reminders of the hazards of space. Epimetheus (70 miles or 113 kilometers across) is too small for its gravity to hold onto an atmosphere. It is also too small to be geologically active. There is therefore no way to erase the scars from meteor impacts, except for the generation of new impact craters on top of old ones. Read More: NASA 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted July 18, 2017 Author #27 Share Posted July 18, 2017 Jets from a Distance Quote Enceladus' intriguing south-polar jets are viewed from afar, backlit by sunlight while the moon itself glows softly in reflected Saturn-shine. Observations of the jets taken from various viewing geometries provide different insights into these remarkable features. Cassini has gathered a wealth of information in the hopes of unraveling the mysteries of the subsurface ocean that lurks beneath the moon's icy crust. Read More: NASA 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khol Posted July 18, 2017 #28 Share Posted July 18, 2017 I havent read all articles but the images are truly amazing! https://www.space.com/30419-alien-life-search-enceladus-mission.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted September 25, 2017 Author #29 Share Posted September 25, 2017 Phantom Limb Quote The brightly lit limb of a crescent Enceladus looks ethereal against the blackness of space. The rest of the moon, lit by light reflected from Saturn, presents a ghostly appearance. Enceladus (313 miles or 504 kilometers across) is back-lit in this image, as is apparent by the thin crescent. However, the Sun-Enceladus-spacecraft (or phase) angle, at 141 degrees, is too low to make the moon's famous plumes easily visible. Read More: NASA 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted November 22, 2017 Author #30 Share Posted November 22, 2017 Above Rhea Quote This image is from Cassini's final observation of Saturn's icy moon Rhea (949 miles or 1,527 kilometers across) on May 2, 2017. The spacecraft was at the time high above the plane of Saturn's rings, looking down at Rhea's northern hemisphere. The northern rim of the giant Tirawa impact basin can be seen along the limb at left. (For a high-resolution view of Rhea, see PIA07763; Tirawa is the large basin at the one o'clock position in that view.) Read More: NASA 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted December 28, 2017 Author #31 Share Posted December 28, 2017 All Aglow Quote Saturn's moon Enceladus drifts before the rings, which glow brightly in the sunlight. Beneath its icy exterior shell, Enceladus hides a global ocean of liquid water. Just visible at the moon's south pole (at bottom here) is the plume of water ice particles and other material that constantly spews from that ocean via fractures in the ice. The bright speck to the right of Enceladus is a distant star. Read More: NASA 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatgrimlife Posted December 29, 2017 #32 Share Posted December 29, 2017 Absolutely breathtaking. Enceladus is one of my favorites. I remember when we learned about the ice volcanos in astronomy a few years back and I was awestruck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted February 13, 2018 Author #33 Share Posted February 13, 2018 A Song of Ice and Light Quote Saturn’s moon Enceladus drifts before the rings and the tiny moon Pandora in this view that NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured on Nov. 1, 2009. The entire scene is backlit by the Sun, providing striking illumination for the icy particles that make up both the rings and the jets emanating from the south pole of Enceladus, which is about 314 miles (505 km) across. Pandora, which is about (52 miles, 84 kilometers) wide, was on the opposite side of the rings from Cassini and Enceladus when the image was taken. This view looks toward the night side on Pandora as well, which is lit by dim golden light reflected from Saturn. Read More: NASA 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted April 9, 2018 Author #34 Share Posted April 9, 2018 Dramatic Dione Quote Cassini captured this striking view of Saturn’s moon Dione on July 23, 2012. Dione is about 698 miles (1,123 kilometers) across. Its density suggests that about a third of the moon is made up of a dense core (probably silicate rock) with the remainder of its material being water ice. At Dione's average temperature of -304 degrees Fahrenheit (-186 degrees Celsius), ice is so hard it behaves like rock. Read More: NASA 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted April 9, 2018 Author #35 Share Posted April 9, 2018 Taking a Shine to Enceladus Quote Saturn’s rings cast shadows on the planet’s cloud tops, providing a perfect backdrop for the brilliant sphere of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. The tiny world’s bright white surface results in part from a snow of material originating from the towering plume of icy particles at Enceladus’ south pole. Read More: NASA 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted April 9, 2018 Author #36 Share Posted April 9, 2018 Dione on the Edge Quote Saturn’s moon Dione drifts before the planet’s rings, seen here almost edge on. For all their immense width, the rings are relatively paper-thin, about 30 feet (10 meters) in most places. For its part, Dione is about 698 miles (1,123 kilometers) across. Read More: NASA 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted June 14, 2018 Author #37 Share Posted June 14, 2018 Mighty Odysseus Quote The most visually striking feature on Saturn’s icy moon Tethys is Odysseus crater. An enormous impact created the crater, which is about 280 miles (450 kilometers) across, with its ring of steep cliffs and the mountains that rise at its center. Odysseus is on the leading hemisphere of Tethys (1,071 kilometers, or 665 miles across). In this image, north on Tethys is up. This view is a composite of several images taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Aug. 17, 2015, at a distance of about 28,000 miles (44,500 kilometers) from Tethys. Read More: NASA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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