Moons · Moon of Saturn
Enceladus
1.4 billion km from the Sun · Light crosses it in 0.0017 seconds
- Across
- 504 km
- Vs Earth
- 3.96% of Earth
- Mass
- 1.1 × 10²⁰ kg
Open Enceladus in Cosmic Scale
About
Enceladus hides a global ocean of salty water beneath an icy shell. More than a hundred geysers at its south pole jet that water hundreds of kilometres into space, where it feeds one of Saturn's rings. The Cassini spacecraft flew straight through the plumes and tasted them.
Geysers at its south pole spray water from a hidden ocean into space.
At a glance
| Orbits | Saturn, every 1.4 days |
|---|---|
| Ocean depth | About 10 km, under 5–25 km of ice |
| Surface | About −200 °C |
| Discovered | 1789, William Herschel |
Did you know
- Its fresh ice reflects about 80% of the sunlight that hits it, making it the most reflective body in the Solar System.
- Cassini found salts, silica and organic molecules in the plume — signs of warm water meeting rock on the ocean floor.
- The spray forms Saturn's faint E ring, which the moon flies through.