* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: Enceladus

Blobrana · L

This is the first raw image returned from the Cassini spacecraft after its closest flyby yet, on July 14. Here the surface of Enceladus is about 320 kilometres away.

This image was taken on July 14, 2005 and received on Earth July 15, 2005. The camera was pointing toward Enceladus that was approximately 545 kilometres away. The image was taken using the CL1 and CL2 filters.

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Blobrana · L

This map of the surface of Enceladus illustrates the regions that will be imaged by NASA's Cassini spacecraft during its planned very close flyby on July 14, 2005.
At closest approach, the spacecraft is expected to pass approximately 175 kilometres above the moon's surface.
This is less than half the distance of Cassini's previous encounter with Enceladus (505 kilometres across), in March of this year.
The coloured lines delineate the regions that will be imaged at the range of resolutions listed in the legend below.

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An important scientific goal of this close flyby, during which Cassini will view the moon's previously unseen south pole, will be to search for evidence of geologically recent tectonic or volcanic activity.
During the March 2005 Enceladus flyby, Cassini revealed fractures at southern latitudes, which have intriguing spectral differences from the surrounding terrain. This possibly indicates the presence of coarse-grained ice on the walls of geologically recent, large cracks in the surface.
The map was made from images obtained by both the Cassini and Voyager spacecrafts.

This was also taken on July 14, 2005 and received on Earth July 15, 2005.
Enceladus was approximately 545 kilometres away.

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The image was taken using the CL1 and CL2 filters.

Blobrana · L

This image was taken on March 09, 2005 by the Cassini spacecraft, and received on Earth March 09, 2005.
The camera was pointing toward Enceladus at approximately 4,177 kilometres away, and the image was taken using the CL1 and IR3 filters.

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Blobrana · L

This infrared colour image of Enceladus was obtained by the Cassini visual infrared mapping spectrometer on March 9, 2005, when the Cassini spacecraft was 9,145 kilometres away from Enceladus.

Enceladus shows substantial differences in composition or, more likely, particle size on its surface. Redder areas correspond to larger grain sizes, and appear to be correlated with craters and ridged regions. The surface of Enceladus is nearly pure water ice; no other components have been identified yet.

The middle of the image is located at the equator near a longitude of 210 degrees. The image is about 100 kilometres square.
The image shows the ratio of reflected light at 1.34 and 1.52 microns, wavelengths that are not visible to the human eye.

Cassini is scheduled for an Enceladus Flyby on July 14 2005