This raw, unprocessed image was taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on May 2, 2012. The camera was pointing toward Enceladus at approximately 239,799 miles (385,919 kilometers) away.
This raw, unprocessed image was taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on May 1, 2012. The camera was pointing toward Enceladus at approximately 260,443 miles (419,142 kilometers) away.
This photo shows the leading hemisphere of Saturn's moon Enceladus. The image was captured on Nov. 6, 2011 by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, when the probe was about 67,700 miles (109,000 kilometers) from the icy moon.
This image shows grooves in the southern part of Saturn's moon Enceladus. The image was created using synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) data acquired by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on Nov. 6, 2011. The radar image is overlaid in light blue over an earlier visible-light image.
NASA's Cassini spacecraft obtained this unprocessed image of Enceladus on Nov. 6, 2011 and received on Earth November 7, 2011. The camera was pointing toward Enceladus from a distance of approximately 67,100 miles (144,790 kilometers), and the image was taken using the CL1 and CL2 filters.
This raw, unprocessed image of Saturn's moon Enceladus was taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on Nov. 6, 2011 and received on Earth November 7, 2011. The camera was pointing toward Enceladus from a distance of approximately 67,100 miles (108,044 kilometers), and the image was taken using the CL1 and CL2 filters.
The Cassini spacecraft has been studying Saturn and its moons since it entered orbit in 2004. This image, taken on Oct. 5, 2008, is a stunning mosaic of the geologically active Enceladus after a Cassini flyby.
In this view, the giant orange moon Titan casts a large shadow onto Saturn's north polar hood. Below Titan, near the ring plane and to the left is the moon Mimas, casting a much smaller shadow onto Saturn's equatorial cloud tops. Farther to the left, and off Saturn's disk, are the bright moon Dione and the fainter moon Enceladus.
An unprocessed image of Enceladus taken on April 24, 2007.
This sweeping mosaic of Saturn's moon Enceladus provides broad regional context for the ultra-sharp, close-up views NASA's Cassini spacecraft acquired minutes earlier, during its flyby on Aug. 11, 2008.
This three-image mosaic is the highest resolution view yet obtained of Enceladus' north polar region. The view looks southward over cratered plains from high above the north pole of Enceladus. NASA's Cassini probe caught this view during a March 12, 2008 flyby.
This raw, unprocessed image of Enceladus was taken by NASA's Cassini probe on Nov. 2, 2009. Bright plumes of water vapor are visible on the moon's south pole.
At least four distinct plumes of water ice spew out from the south polar region of Saturn's moon Enceladus. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Dec. 25, 2009.
NASA's Casini spacecraft obtained this raw image of Enceladus on April 26, 2010. The camera was pointing toward Enceladus at approximately 946,585 kilometers away, and the image was taken using the CL1 and IR3 filters. This image has not been validated or calibrated. A validated/calibrated image will be archived with the NASA Planetary Data System in 2011.
A new image of Saturn's moon Enceladus backlit by the Sun show the fountain-like sources of the fine spray of material that towers over the south polar region. The image is greatly enhanced and colorized.
False color Cassini image illustrating the jets of fine icy particles erupting from the south polar region of Enceladus.
In this artist's concept, the Cassini spacecraft makes a close pass by Saturn's inner moon Enceladus to study plumes from geysers that erupt from giant fissures in the moon's southern polar region.
This artist's concept shows a planned flyby of Saturn's moon Enceladus by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on Nov. 30, 2010. Cassini woke from a hibernating "safe mode" Nov. 24.
This artist's concept shows a glowing patch of ultraviolet light near Saturn's north pole that occurs at the "footprint" of the magnetic connection between Saturn and its moon Enceladus. The magnetic field lines and the footprint are not visible to the naked eye, but were detected by the ultraviolet imaging spectrograph and fields and particles instruments on NASA's Cassini spacecraft.
This image taken by the Cassini spacecraft highlights the thinness of Saturn's rings, only about one kilometer thick. Saturn's moon Titan looms over the thin rings, while the smaller moon Enceladus appears very tiny on the far right.
Artist's concept of Cassini flying by Saturn's moon Enceladus.
Three of Saturn's moons appear in a somber group portrait along with the northern, sunlit ringplane. Rhea (949 miles or 1,528 kilometers across) is closest to Cassini spacecraft, which took the photograph, and appears largest at the center of the image. Enceladus (313 miles or 504 kilometers across) is to the right of Rhea. Dione (698 miles or 1,123 kilometers across) is to the left of Rhea, partly obscured by Saturn. Saturn is present on the left of this image but its night side is too dark to see.
This photo, taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on July 29, 2011, shows Saturn's A and F rings and five of its moons. From left, the moons are Janus, Pandora, Enceladus, Mimas and Rhea.
Artistic rendering of the surface of Enceladus. One of the active "tiger stripe" ridges crosses the scene in the foreground, its active areas a strong blue color indicating freshly exposed water ice. A hazy, bright Mimas hangs over the scene, surrounded by a faint moon ring or halo formed by refraction of light by fine, snowy particulates slowly falling to the surface.
Cassini color image of "snowy" landscape of Enceladus. This terrain lies north of the geologically active south polar ridges and features a rolling terrain crosscut by narrow fractures.
Perspective view of "snow"-covered slopes of Enceladus. This heavily fractured terrain lies north of the edge of the active south polar region.
This photo of Saturn's moon Enceladus was taken on April 14, 2012 and received on Earth April 15, 2012. The camera was pointing toward Enceladus at approximately 120,808 kilometers away, and the image was taken using the RED and CL2 filters. This image has not been validated or calibrated.
The photo of Saturn's moon Enceladus was taken on April 14, 2012 and received on Earth April 15, 2012. The camera was pointing toward Enceladus at approximately 185 kilometers away, and the image was taken using the CL1 and CL2 filters. This image has not been validated or calibrated.
Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus hangs below the gas giant’s rings while Titan lurks in the background, in this new image taken by the Cassini spacecraft on March 12, 2012.
