Saturn's Moon Enceladus

Photo courtesy of NASA.
One of the most interesting moons in our solar system is the beautiful, yet frigid Enceladus. The planet Saturn has many moons orbiting around it with new ones being discovered all the time, but Enceladus remains a favorite among astronomers because of its unique and changing surface.

Enceladus is the brightest large object in the solar system because it is covered with ice. In fact, virtually all of the sunlight that reaches the surface is reflected back into space! The river-like fissures on the left-hand side of the photo were most likely caused by internal melting of the frozen liquid interior and shifting ice.

When British astronomer Sir William Herschel discovered Enceladus and several other moons of Saturn way back in 1789, he used an improved reflecting telescope that he designed and built himself.

Herschel probably couldn't even imagine just how close a view the astronomers of today would be able to get of those distant bodies. Today's picture of Enceladus was taken by the unmanned spacecraft Cassini this past July as it came within 168 miles of the moon's south polar region.

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