This video from NASA/JPL describes the apparent discovery of ice geysers near the South Pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus. Images and other data from the Cassini spacecraft helped scientists discover these fascinating and unusual features.
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Enceladus is a medium-sized, icy moon of Saturn. The South Pole of Enceladus is one of the oddest places in the Solar System. Temperatures near the pole are far warmer than anywhere else on the moon, huge...more
Enceladus is the sixth largest moon of Saturn. It was discovered in 1789 by the British astronomer William Herschel (who also discovered the planet Uranus). Enceladus is a medium-sized moon made primarily...more
This is an image of the Earth's moon, shown in the lower left, with the six much smaller icy moons of Saturn. The moons in order, starting from the top left are: Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea,...more
Dione was discovered by G. Cassini in 1684. Dione is the 7th farthest moon from Saturn, with a standoff distance of 377,400 km. It is a small icy moon, lightly cratered, with wispy white streaks across...more
The surface of Dione does not have many craters, which is an indication of changes to the surface in the past. Instead it has wispy white streaks similar to those found on Rhea extending for many kilometers...more
The surface of Enceladus does not have many craters. Instead it has grooves similar to those found on Ganymede. These grooves extend for many kilometers over the surface. The presence of grooves indicates...more
Helene was discovered on February 29, 1980, by Pierre Laques and Raymond Despiau of the Pic du Midi Observatory, France, and J. Lecacheux from the Meudon Observatory, France. Their discovery was made using...more
Hyperion was discovered by W. Bond in 1848. Hyperion is the 3rd farthest moon from Saturn, with a standoff distance of 1,481,000 km. Hyperion is 175 x 100 km (117 x 67 miles) in size. Its dimensions make...more