spacethebeyond: unknownskywalker: At first...

Feb 24

$spacethebeyond: unknownskywalker: At first glance, this scene simply shows the bright crescent of Saturn’s moon Enceladus at top right, composed against the stability of its parent planet resting at the bottom left. But a closer look at the center of the image reveals a dramatic surprise: plumes of water ice spew out from the famed fractures known as “tiger stripes” near the south pole of the moon. This image and others showing the geology of the moon’s terrain were obtained on Nov. 21, 2009, when NASA’s Cassini spacecraft flew close to Enceladus (see PIA11686 and PIA11687). Cassini scientists continue to study the evidence as to whether reservoirs of liquid water exist beneath the surface of the moon. Click image for high resolution. Source: CICLOPS 月 - the moon$ View high resolution

spacethebeyond:

unknownskywalker:

At first glance, this scene simply shows the bright crescent of Saturn’s moon Enceladus at top right, composed against the stability of its parent planet resting at the bottom left. But a closer look at the center of the image reveals a dramatic surprise: plumes of water ice spew out from the famed fractures known as “tiger stripes” near the south pole of the moon.

This image and others showing the geology of the moon’s terrain were obtained on Nov. 21, 2009, when NASA’s Cassini spacecraft flew close to Enceladus (see PIA11686 and PIA11687). Cassini scientists continue to study the evidence as to whether reservoirs of liquid water exist beneath the surface of the moon.

Click image for high resolution.

Source: CICLOPS