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Enceladus is a natural satellite of the outer planet Saturn. It was discovered on August 28, 1789, by the astronomer William Herschel. It is the sixth largest moon of Saturn, and has a diameter of 504.2 km.
Surface Features
The surface of Enceladus consists of small craters scattered throughout the satellite. Water ice is also located on the moon, indicating the possibility of life on Enceladus.
| Geology of Enceladus | |
|---|---|
| Craters | Ahmad • Ajib • Al-Bakbuk • Al-Fakik • Al-Haddar • Al-Kuz • Al-Mustazi • Aladdin • Ali Baba • Ayyub • Aziz • Bahman • Behram • Dalilah • Duban • Dunyazad • Fitnah • Ghanim • Gharib • Harun • Hassan • Hisham • Ishak • Ja'afar • Jansha • Julnar • Kamar • Kasim • Khusrau • Ma'aruf • Marjanah • Masrur • Morgiana • Musa • Mustafa • Omar • Otbah • Parwez • Peri-Banu • Perizadah • Rayya • Sabur • Salih • Samad • Shahrazad • Shahryar • Shakashik • Sharrkan • Shirin • Sindbad • Yunan • Zaynab • Zumurrud |
| Sulci | Alexandria • Al-Medinah • Al-Yaman • Andalús • Baghdad • Bulak • Cairo • Camphor • Cashmere • Damascus • Hamah • Harran • Labtayt • Láhej • Makran • Misr • Mosul • Samarkand • Shiraz • Sind |
| Fossae | Anbar • Bassorah • Bishangarh • Daryabar • Isbanir • Kaukabán • Khorasan |
| Dorsa | Cufa Dorsa • Ebony Dorsum |
| Planitiae | Diyar Planitia • Sarandib Planitia |
| Rupes | Samaria Rupes |
Hydrothermal Vents
On April 13, 2017, NASA announced the discovery of possible hydrothermal activity on Enceladus's sub-surface ocean floor. In 2015, the Cassini probe made a close fly-by of Enceladus's south pole, flying within 48.3 km (30.0 mi) of the surface, as well as through a plume in the process.
Composition and Internal Structure
Before the Cassini mission, not much was actually known about the interior of Enceladus. the Voyager missions did not help mich with it. Flybys by Cassini provided information for models of Enceladus's interior, including a better determination of the mass and shape, high-resolution observations of the surface, and new insights on the interior.
Initial mass estimates from the Voyager program missions suggested that Enceladus was composed almost entirely of water ice. However, based on the effects of Enceladus's gravity on Cassini, its mass was determined to be much higher than previously thought, yielding a density of 1.61 g/cm3. This density is higher than those of Saturn's other mid-sized icy satellites, indicating that Enceladus contains a greater percentage of silicates and iron.
Evidence of liquid water on Enceladus began to accumulate in 2005, when scientists observed plumes containing water vapor spewing from its south polar surface, with jets moving 250 kg of water vapor every second at up to 2,189 km/h (1,360 mph) into space. Soon after, in 2006 it was determined that Enceladus's plumes are the source of Saturn's E Ring. The sources of salty particles are uniformly distributed along the tiger stripes, whereas sources of "fresh" particles are closely related to the high-speed gas jets. The salty particles are heavier and mostly fall back to the surface, whereas the fast fresh particles escape to the E ring, explaining its salt-poor composition of 0.5–2% of sodium salts by mass.
Gallery
| Moons of Saturn | |
|---|---|
| Ring Shepherds | S/2009 S 1 • Pan • Daphnis • Atlas • Prometheus • Pandora |
| Co-orbitals | Janus • Epimetheus |
| G Ring | Aegaeon |
| Alkyonides | Methone • Pallene • Anthe |
| Inner Large Moons | Mimas • Enceladus • Tethys • (Telesto • Calypso) • Dione • (Helene • Polydeuces) |
| Outer Large Moons | Rhea • Titan • Hyperion • Iapetus |
| Inuit | Kiviuq • Paaliaq • Siarnaq • Ijiraq • S/2005 S 4 • S/2019 S 1 • S/2020 S 1 • Tarqeq • S/2004 S 31 • S/2019 S 14 • S/2020 S 3 • S/2019 S 6 |
| Gallic | Albiorix • Bebhionn • S/2007 S 8 • S/2004 S 29 • Erriapus • Tarvos • S/2020 S 4 |
| Norse | Phoebe • S/2006 S 20 • S/2006 S 9 • Skathi • S/2007 S 5 • S/2007 S 7 • S/2007 S 2 • S/2004 S 37 • S/2004 S 47 • S/2004 S 40 • S/2019 S 2 • S/2019 S 3 • S/2020 S 7 • Skoll • S/2020 S 2 • S/2019 S 4 • S/2004 S 41 • S/2004 S 42 • Hyrrokkin • Greip • S/2004 S 13 • S/2007 S 6 • Mundilfari • S/2006 S 1 • S/2004 S 43 • S/2006 S 10 • S/2019 S 5 • Gridr • Bergelmir • Jarnsaxa • Narvi • Suttungr • S/2007 S 3 • S/2004 S 44 • S/2004 S 45 • Hati • S/2004 S 17 • S/2006 S 11 • S/2004 S 12 • Eggther • S/2006 S 13 • S/2007 S 9 • S/2019 S 7 • S/2019 S 8 • Farbauti • Thrymr • Bestla • S/2019 S 9 • S/2004 S 46 • Angrboda • S/2019 S 11 • Aegir • Beli • S/2019 S 10 • S/2019 S 12 • Gerd • S/2019 S 13 • S/2006 S 14 • Gunnlod • S/2019 S 15 • S/2020 S 6 • S/2004 S 7 • S/2006 S 3 • S/2005 S 5 • Skrymir • S/2006 S 16 • S/2006 S 15 • S/2004 S 28 • S/2020 S 8 • Alvaldi • Kari • S/2004 S 48 • Geirrod • Fenrir • S/2004 S 50 • S/2006 S 17 • S/2004 S 49 • S/2019 S 17 • Surtur • S/2006 S 18 • Loge • Ymir • S/2019 S 19 • S/2004 S 21 • S/2019 S 18 • S/2004 S 39 • S/2019 S 16 • S/2004 S 53 • S/2004 S 36 • Thiazzi • S/2019 S 20 • S/2006 S 19 • S/2004 S 26 • Fornjot • S/2004 S 51 • S/2020 S 10 • S/2020 S 9 • S/2004 S 34 • S/2019 S 21 • S/2004 S 52
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| Outlier Prograde Satellites | S/2006 S 12 • S/2004 S 24 |
| Spurious Moons | Chiron • Themis • S/2004 S 6 • S/2004 S 4 • S/2004 S 3 • Peggy |