Enceladus

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Context

• NASA's Cassini spacecraft shows the icy crust at the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus.

Enceladus

About

• Enceladus is the sixth-largest moon of Saturn (19th largest in the Solar System).
• It is about 500 kilometers in diameter, about a tenth of that of Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

Surface Temperature

• Enceladus is mostly covered by fresh, clean ice, making it one of the most reflective bodies of the Solar System.
• Consequently, its surface temperature at noon only reaches −198 °C (75.1 K; −324.4 °F), far colder than a light-absorbing body would b
• Despite its small size, Enceladus has a wide range of surface features, ranging from old, heavily cratered regions to young, tectonically deformed terrain.

Composition

• Enceladus is a relatively small satellite composed of ice and rock.