Explanation: The north pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus is unexpectedly fascinating and complex. Previous to the latest flyby of the robotic Cassini spacecraft, the northern region was known mostly for its unusually high abundance of craters. Last week's flyby, however, returned images of unprecedented detail, including the featured image showing the expected craters coupled with an unexpected and circuitous pattern of picturesque cracks and fractures. Broken terrain has been recorded at lower latitudes, with deep canyons dubbed Tiger Stripes near Enceladus' South Pole. The fractures may further indicate global interplay between the surface and potential seas underneath, seas that future missions might target for signs of life.

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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.

Publikacii s klyuchevymi slovami: Enceladus - Encelad - KA Kassini Publikacii so slovami: Enceladus - Encelad - KA Kassini
Sm. takzhe: Svezhie "tigrovye polosy" na sputnike Saturna Encelade Polumesyac Encelada Sputnik Saturna Elena v cvete Encelad, osveshennyi Saturnom Kassini smotrit na Saturn Saturn v infrakrasnom svete ot "Kassini" Morya na Titane otrazhayut solnechnyi svet Vse publikacii na tu zhe temu >>