New Photos of Enceladus~ Amazing!! Also Tethys and Dione~

Check out these 'new' photos from Saturns Moon Enceladus.
These look very promising!


Taken last weekend apparently by Cassini.


[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/21c639e8c846.jpg[/atsimg]

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/25233a3a6d54.jpg[/atsimg]


plumes on Enceladus~
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/86deb0cf84e2.jpg[/atsimg]

and here She is against Saturns rings~
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/e7e8465d5ff3.jpg[/atsimg]

Here is Tethys~
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/6d3963b1362d.jpg[/atsimg]


Dione~
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/183dab804691.jpg[/atsimg]

I dont have much time to add in any captions, But here is the site with a little more info. www.universetoday.com...

and damn! Gonna have to go to the site to see full pics I guess anyway,
I dont have time to go back and make them 'scrollable'. lol, Sorry.

nice pics!



what is the streaky thing in the "sky" of the 2nd last pic?

Great pics OP.

I always find it a little strange that anything that NASA gives us in relation to photos always end up looking the same old desolate grey looking surfaces.

For once why can't we be shown trees, lakes and water falls is that too much to ask?

reply to post by franspeakfree


No trees on Enceladus?

I think this has something to do with it:

the mean surface temperature at noon only reaches −198 °C

en.wikipedia.org...

These moons/planets don't have supportive atmospheres, what do you expect?

Originally posted by serbsta


These moons/planets don't have supportive atmospheres, what do you expect?

had we probed for atmosphere?

Originally posted by Happyfeet

Originally posted by serbsta


These moons/planets don't have supportive atmospheres, what do you expect?

had we probed for atmosphere?

www.astrobio.net...

I'm no expert... but I don't think the place has seen trees.

Originally posted by franspeakfree
...I always find it a little strange that anything that NASA gives us in relation to photos always end up looking the same old desolate grey looking surfaces.

For once why can't we be shown trees, lakes and water falls is that too much to ask...

Well, NASA has satellites that have taken pictures of Earth...
Try looking at those.

I personally think Enceladus is one of the most exciting moons out there when talking about potential life -- at least as exciting as Jupiter's moon Europa , and perhaps even MORE exciting than Europa.

Originally posted by Happyfeet
had we probed for atmosphere?

Yes, we have.

Enceladus is known for its geysers that shoot water-ice and other materials out into space from beneath it's surface. These geysers probably help in creating an atmosphere -- and there is a very thin and tenuous atmosphere (concentrated near the region of the geysers) made mostly of water vapor with a little nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, and maybe ammonia...


HOWEVER -- the most exciting thing about Enceladus is not the surface or the atmosphere, but the possibility of a liquid water ocean existing beneath the surface (just like Jupiter's moon Europa). The geysers are a definite sign of at least some water beneath the surface -- and other data indicates a possible salt-water ocean:

Salt Finding From NASA's Cassini Hints at Ocean Within Saturn Moon

The reason I personally think Enceladus is MORE exciting than Europa is that organic materials were found by the Cassini spacecraft as it swooped down into the path of the geysers and "tasted" (i.e., analyzed) the materials contained in those geysers -- and organic materials were found. Europa is believed to have organic materials in its oceans, but that has not been confirmed. It has been confirmed in the water-ice from Enceladus.

[disclaimer: "Organic material" does NOT always mean life. Organic materials can exist where there is no life -- HOWEVER, these are the building blocks of life and could be a sign of life.]

Cassini Tastes Organic Material at Saturn's Geyser Moon

Organic Chemicals Found in a Geyser of Saturn's Moon Enceladus



[edit on 8/19/2010 by Soylent Green Is People]

That is sweet> I love photos like that.