This page describes an image Enceladus
Image caption:
On 9 Oct. 2008, just after coming within 25 kilometers (15.6 miles) of the surface of Enceladus, NASA's Cassini probe captured this stunning mosaic of Saturn's 500 km large ice-moon. Craters and cratered terrains are rare in this view of the southern region of the moon's Saturn-facing hemisphere. Instead, the surface is replete with fractures, folds, and ridges — all hallmarks of remarkable tectonic activity for a relatively small world. In this enhanced-color view, regions that appear blue-green are thought to be coated with larger grains than those that appear white or gray. Similar to Europa, Enceladus has a subsurface ocean of liquid water spanning the entire moon.
A false colour image of a partially illuminated Enceladus. The white surface is covered by numerous straight and curved crevices at random orientations
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Image credit:
NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Credit Link
Related glossary terms:
Moons
Categories:
Solar System
Image license: Public Domain Public Domain icons
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Image caption: Le 9 octobre 2008, juste après s'être approchée à 25 km de la surface d'Encelade, la sonde Cassini de la NASA a capturé cette étonnante mosaïque de la lune glacée de Saturne, d'une taille de 500 km. Les cratères et les terrains cratérisés sont rares dans cette vue de la région sud de l'hémisphère de la lune faisant face à Saturne. Au contraire, la surface est remplie de fractures, de plis et de crêtes, autant de signes d'une activité tectonique remarquable pour un monde relativement petit. Dans cette vue en fausses couleurs, les régions qui apparaissent en bleu-vert sont supposées être recouvertes de grains plus gros que ceux qui apparaissent en blanc ou en gris. À l'instar d'Europe, Encelade possède un océan souterrain d'eau liquide qui s'étend sur l'ensemble de la lune.
Image en fausses couleurs d'Encelade partiellement éclairée. La surface blanche est recouverte de nombreuses crevasses droites et courbes, orientées de manière aléatoire.
Image credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Related glossary terms: Lunes Caption translation status: Not yet approved by a reviewer
Caption translators: Gilles Remy
Image caption: Il 9 ottobre 2008, poco dopo essersi avvicinata fino a 25 chilometri dalla superficie di Encelado, la sonda Cassini della NASA ha catturato questo straordinario mosaico della luna ghiacciata di Saturno, grande 500 chilometri. Crateri e terreni craterizzati sono rari in questa visuale della regione meridionale dell'emisfero della luna rivolto verso Saturno. La superficie è invece ricca di fratture, pieghe e creste, tutti segni di una notevole attività tettonica per un mondo relativamente piccolo. In questa immagine a colori potenziati, si ritiene che le regioni che appaiono blu-verdi siano ricoperte da rocce più grandi rispetto a quelle che appaiono bianche o grigie. Come Europa, anche Encelado ha un oceano sotterraneo di acqua liquida che si estende su tutta la luna.
Immagine a falsi colori di Encelado parzialmente illuminato. La superficie bianca è coperta da numerosi crepacci rettilinei e curvi con orientamenti casuali.
Image credit: NASA/JPL/Istituto di Scienza dello Spazio
Related glossary terms: Lune Caption translation status: Approved by a reviewer
Caption translators: Giuliana Giobbi
Caption reviewers: Rosa Valiante, Rodolfo Canestrari, Raffaella Ferretti
