Enceladus’ intriguing south-polar jets are viewed by the Cassini probe 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.
This view looks toward the Saturn-facing hemisphere of Enceladus (504 kilometres or 313 miles across). North is up. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on 13 April 2017.
The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 808,000 kilometers (502,000 miles) from Enceladus and at a sun-Enceladus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 176 degrees. Image scale is 5 kilometers (3 miles) per pixel.
Saturn: Exploring the Ringed Planet
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