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Enceladus and Tethys - Rev 164 Raw Preview
These raw, unprocessed images of Saturn’s moons Enceladus and Tethys were taken on April 14, 2012, by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. Cassini’s cameras also imaged Enceladus’ south polar plume as the satellite appeared as a thin crescent and the plume was backlit (image #1).
Cassini flew by Enceladus at an altitude of about 74 km and “tasted” the composition of the moon’s south polar plume as the spacecraft flew through it (image #2). Cassini’s path took it along the length of Baghdad Sulcus, one of Enceladus’ “tiger stripe” fractures from which jets of water ice and vapor and organic compounds spray into space.
Cassini’s cameras also acquired images of the surface of Enceladus. The wide-angle-camera image included here (image #3), taken from around the time of closest approach, has some smearing from the movement of the spacecraft during the exposure but still shows the surface in vivid detail.
After the Enceladus encounter, Cassini passed the moon Tethys with a closest approach distance of about 9,100 kilometers. This was Cassini’s best imaging encounter with Tethys since a targeted encounter in September 2005. This new encounter examined the opposite side of Tethys, providing some of the highest-resolution images of the side that faces away from Saturn.
Cassini acquired a 22-frame mosaic of this side, which features the large impact basin named Odysseus. Scientists will use these new data in conjunction with images from previous encounters to create digital elevation maps of the moon’s surface.
The Tale Continues…
The brightly reflective moon Enceladus appears before Saturn’s rings while the larger moon Titan looms in the distance.
Jets of water ice and vapor emanating from the south pole of Enceladus and hinting at a subsurface, organic-rich sea, and liquid hydrocarbons ponded on the surface Titan make these two of the most fascinating moons in the Saturnian system.
Enceladus is in the center of the image. Titan can faintly be seen in the background beyond the rings. The image was taken in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 12, 2012 from a distance of 1 million kilometers from Enceladus.
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Six Moons of Saturn
How many moons does Saturn have? So far 62 have been discovered, the smallest only a fraction of a kilometer across. Six of its largest satellites can be seen here, though, in a sharp Saturnian family portrait taken on March 9 by astrophotographer Rafael Defavari.
Larger than Earth’s Moon and even slightly larger than Mercury, Titan has a diameter of 5,150 kilometers and starts the line-up at the lower left. Continuing to the right across the frame are Mimas, Tethys, [Saturn], Enceladus, Dione, and Rhea at far right.
Saturn’s first known natural satellite, Titan was discovered in 1655 by Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens, while most recently the satellite provisionally designated S/2009 S1 was found by the Cassini Imaging Science Team in 2009. Tonight, Saturn reaches opposition in planet Earth’s sky, offering the best telescopic views of the ringed planet and moons.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2l5kolIuY1qzyhb5o1_500.png)
Six Moons of Saturn
How many moons does Saturn have? So far 62 have been discovered, the smallest only a fraction of a kilometer across. Six of its largest satellites can be seen here, though, in a sharp Saturnian family portrait taken on March 9 by astrophotographer Rafael Defavari.
Larger than Earth’s Moon and even slightly larger than Mercury, Titan has a diameter of 5,150 kilometers and starts the line-up at the lower left. Continuing to the right across the frame are Mimas, Tethys, [Saturn], Enceladus, Dione, and Rhea at far right.
Saturn’s first known natural satellite, Titan was discovered in 1655 by Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens, while most recently the satellite provisionally designated S/2009 S1 was found by the Cassini Imaging Science Team in 2009. Tonight, Saturn reaches opposition in planet Earth’s sky, offering the best telescopic views of the ringed planet and moons.
