carolynporco:Yesterday, Cassini executed its 20th close flyby of the small icy moon, Enceladus, in w
carolynporco:Yesterday, Cassini executed its 20th close flyby of the small icy moon, Enceladus, in what was the first of our last three visits to this fantastic world. The close approach altitude was 1,838 kilometers (1,142 miles) over the moon’s high northern latitudes. Our cameras were active during most of this encounter, allowing the imaging team and other remote-sensing instrument teams to observe the Saturn-opposing side of Enceladus on the inbound leg of the encounter, and a narrow, sunlit crescent outbound.Enceladus fascinates us because of a sub-surface, global ocean, lying a few 10’s of miles beneath its surface, that is actively venting into space. And though this magnificent mission, that left Earth 18 years ago today, is not yet over, we are already looking forward to the time, hopefully not too far in the future, when we can travel back to Enceladus with the express purpose of answering the question that burns in all of us: Could there be life under its cracked and cratered surface?For now, dwell on these fabulous images from yesterday’s flyby of a moon clear across the solar system. We have another flyby coming up on October 28, and then another in late December.Enjoy!CICLOPS.org: Enceladus ‘Rev 223’ Raw Preview -- source link
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