There are millions of moons and stars in the Solar System.The Enceladus moon is one of the millions of tiny elements of the vast Solar System. The Enceladus moon is a natural satellite of the planet Saturn.Enceladus was discovered by Frederick William Herschel back in the year 1789. However, most of its important features were actually explored during the Cassini mission which was set to take a deep dive into Saturn and its atmosphere.The Enceladus moon is the sixth-largest moon of Saturn, it orbits the planet along with 82 other moons! But, not all of them are well known and some of them are yet to be given a title. Interestingly, just like Saturn, Enceladus is known for its unique appearance. It has distinctive ’tiger stripes’ on the surface of its south pole and is one of the brightest objects in the Solar System with its lustrous surface. Although it might be one of the largest moons, that is much bigger than the Earth, the Enceladus is still much smaller than our moon. The icy surface of Enceladus measures about 313 mi (503.7 km) in diameter and is only one-seventh the diameter of the Earth’s Moon. The surface temperature of Enceladus reaches extremely cold temperatures of −330 F (−165.6 C).If you like this article, do check out what is the Moon made of and Moon child meaning. History Of Enceladus MoonFirst captured by the Cassini spacecraft, in Saturn’s E-ring, the Enceladus moon was described as an extremely cold, shiny distant body in space. Being another moon of Saturn, Enceladus was named after one of the Giants from Greek mythology just like other moons of Saturn including Titan, Lapetus, and Rhea.Popular astronomer Frederick William Herschel first spotted Enceladus all the way back in 1789 but it was explored better by the Cassini spacecraft in 2005. A good part of the information was also collected using the voyager spacecraft in which the interstellar was employed to study the Enceladus moon. Titled as one of the ‘Gigantes (giants) of Greek mythology’ the moon, like many other celestial bodies has unique mentions from histories. While the name itself is inspired by Greek mythology, the names of many physical features of the moon like the crevices and certain locations are named after the Arabian nights too. Another significant detail about this cold moon is that it has undergone five major geological evolutions.Orbit And Rotation Of Enceladus MoonThe Enceladus orbits Saturn in a prograde, meaning it rotates from West to East like many other planets and moons. It has a nearly circular path at a mean distance of 147,898.7 mi (238,020 km) and the orbital period is 32.9 hours long. However, the orbit itself is not consistent. It does not have a fixed distance from Saturn on all points of its orbiting. Unlike the Earth, Saturn is not central to Enceladus during all times of the revolution and the difference of distance between the two bodies brings the tidal forces into activity. Not only is Enceladus tidally locked with Saturn, but it is also trapped in what’s called an orbital resonance with another moon, Dione, with a 2:1 ratio for orbiting Saturn. Thus in the case of Enceladus, its orbit resonates with Saturn and Dione.The Cassini probe, also known as the Cassini space probe was a spacecraft launched by NASA to discover the atmosphere on Saturn. It orbited Saturn for seven years. It holds an important position in the discovery of Enceladus’s movement and geography. As for the composition of the orbit, Enceladus’s orbit is a cloud of particles ejected from neighbor Jupiter’s volcanic activity. Additionally, the moon, in turn, ejects particles from its volcanic activity which forms the outermost ring of Saturn, which is also known as the E-ring. They possibly wind up into Saturn’s outer atmosphere, due to the rotation of Enceladus as well.Geology Of Enceladus MoonSaturn’s moon Enceladus has the most interesting geography. As the Cassini probe revealed the dramatic nature of the geological activities on this moon, the icy cold shell-like surface came as less of a surprise to the researchers. Water ice particles containing sodium confirm the nature of the moon as sodium can only be accommodated in low temperatures but it supports the coexistence of thermal and hydrological features.Enceladus bears the specialty of a glass-like, smooth surface. It is not however completely free of rocky craters, but its terrain is mostly icy and relatively bump-free and smooth. While the Northern region does not have any remarkable features apart from the regular tectonic patterns, the South polar region of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, is a unique spot. It is the only region fully free of impact craters but it is loaded with chilly ice boulders and ice-cold liquid (water) is known to flow from that region. The icy particles flow in a manner, creating what is popularly known as the ‘Tiger Stripes’ of the Enceladus. The internal heat of the core geysers produce water vapor. Thus, even though the jet streams present on the Enceladus produce icy water particles, there is still a huge remark of thermal energy on the planet which might bear the possibility of supporting life. Given the unique combination of thermal and icy energies coexisting on the same body, scientists also suggest the possibility of extraterrestrial life on Enceladus.Internal Structure Of Enceladus MoonThe sixth-largest moon of Saturn has a shiny icy surface with clean ice throughout. Although the North and South pole seem to have different geographical terrains, the internal structure seems to be consistent.The clean ice makes it look like an alluring mirror that shines so bright as it reflects almost 80% of the sunlight it receives. However, this beautiful feature also makes it one of the coldest places in the Solar System as it barely absorbs any sunlight. The surface of the Enceladus moon is almost like an ‘ice shell’ while 90% of its atmosphere is composed of water vapor. With so much ice around, you might think that Enceladus has a liquid water ocean but that’s certainly not the case. Although there is clear evidence of hydrothermal vents and liquid water, Enceladus doesn’t seem to bear a subsurface ocean. It is more popularly held that the surface ice seeps into the core itself. As its rocky core is composed of radioactive materials, given the hyperthermal nature of the eruptions accompanied by water vapors rather makes the frozen surface susceptible to radioactive heating, instead of a sub-surface ocean beneath it. Hydrothermal vents originate from the surface right beneath the crust and they are known to draw their heat from the surface right beneath.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Enceladus moon facts then why not take a look at Moon in different languages, or 2nd planet from the sun?
There are millions of moons and stars in the Solar System.
