Enceladus from a distance of 119,000 kilometers PIA01394
This Voyager 2 mosaic of Enceladus was made from images taken through the clear, violet and green filters Aug. 25, 1981, from a distance of 119,000 kilometers. In many ways, the surface of this satellite of Saturn resembles that of Jupiter's Galilean satellite Ganymede. Enceladus, however, is only one- tenth Ganymede's size.
Go to Full Text
Return to Planets Menu
Image Credit: JPL, NASA  

This Voyager 2 mosaic of Enceladus was made from images taken through the clear, violet and green filters Aug. 25, 1981, from a distance of 119,000 kilometers. In many ways, the surface of this satellite of Saturn resembles that of Jupiter's Galilean satellite Ganymede. Enceladus, however, is only one- tenth Ganymede's size.

Some regions of Enceladus show impact craters up to 35 kilometers in diameter, whereas other areas are smooth and uncratered. Linear sets of grooves tens of kilometers long traverse the surface and are probably faults resulting from deformation of the crust.
The uncratered regions are geologically young and suggest that Enceladus has experienced a period of relatively recent internal melting. The rims of several craters near the lower center of the picture have been flooded by the smooth terrain.

The satellite is about 500 kilometers in diameter and has the brightest and whitest surface of any of Saturn's satellites. Features as small as 2 kilometers rare visible in this highest- resolution view of Enceladus.
 
Return to top of page