Saturn's icy moon Enceladus shows off for NASA (pictures)
The Cassini spacecraft dives in close to Saturn's fascinating cold and cratered moon Enceladus.
Enceladus' icy north pole
NASA's Cassini spacecraft is getting up close and personal with Saturn's icy moon Enceladus in a series of flybys that started on Wednesday.
Enceladus' north pole is covered in craters, detailing a rough history for the satellite. This image was taken from just 4,000 miles (6,000 kilometers) away.
Enceladus hangs in space
NASA's Cassini spacecraft caught this look at Saturn's moon Enceladus back in 2013 from a distance of 106,000 miles (170,000 kilometers) away. A mountain ridge can be seen near the bottom. A close flyby this year has already resulted in clear, high-resolution images of the moon's north pole.
Close up on the north pole
NASA scientists wrote a new chapter in the history of Saturn moon Enceladus after the Cassini spacecraft dove in for a close look at the north pole. Craters and fractures show up clearly in this image. Researchers knew about the presence of fractures on the moon's southern end, but are now able to confirm their presence on the north side of the satellite.
Snowman on a moon
Three craters stacked in a line look like a snowman on the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus. NASA's Cassini mission took the image from a distance of 6,000 miles (10,000 kilometers) on its way to an even closer flyby of the moon's north-pole region.
Cassini's raw look at Enceladus
This raw image of Saturn's moon Enceladus from NASA's Cassini spacecraft has not yet been processed to eke out more detail. Taken on Thursday after a close flyby, the photo shows some surreal round patterns. NASA notes that this image has not yet been validated or calibrated to make sense of what's seen.
Enceladus above Saturn's rings
NASA's Cassini spacecraft took some approach shots on its way to buzzing Saturn's moon Enceladus on Wednesday. This dramatic raw image shows the icy moon hovering above Saturn's rings.
Bright side of Enceladus
The bright side of this image of the moon Enceladus is lit up by a reflection of light off the surface of Saturn. Direct sunlight is responsible for the bright clip on the moon's left side. NASA's Cassini spacecraft is busy with a series of close flybys to get a better look at Enceladus.
Enceladus erupts
Scientists are fascinated by unusual eruptions taking place on Saturn's icy moon Enceladus. Some researchers suspect the presence of a subsurface ocean. This set of images shows a simulation of the sprays.
"Researchers modeled eruptions on Saturn's moon Enceladus as uniform curtains along prominent fractures that stretch across the icy moon's south pole," NASA notes.
Enceladus as a tiny dot
This image from the Cassini spacecraft puts the size of Enceladus into perspective. Saturn is the main focus of the photo, but the moon is visible as a small dot in the lower left corner. Enceladus is just 313 miles (504 kilometers) across, compared with Saturn at nearly 75,000 miles (about 120,000 kilometers) in diameter.