Astronomy

Yet another result from Cassini mission. During a close flyby on March 12, the spacecraft tasted and sampled a surprising organic brew erupting in geyser-like fashion from Saturn’s moon Enceladus. New heat maps of the surface show higher temperatures than previously known in the south polar region, with hot tracks running the length of giant fissures.

As seen on this picture, heat radiating from the entire length of 150 kilometer (95 mile)-long fractures is seen in this best-yet heat map of the active south polar region of Saturn’s ice moon Enceladus. The warmest parts of the fractures tend to lie on locations of the plume jets identified in earlier images, shown in the annotated version with yellow stars.

Remarkably high temperatures, at least 180 Kelvin (minus 135 degrees Fahrenheit) were registered along the brightest fracture, named Damascus Sulcus, in the lower left portion of the image. For comparison, surface temperatures elsewhere in the south polar region of Enceladus are below 72 Kelvin (minus 330 degrees Fahrenheit). Heat is escaping from Enceladus’ interior along these warm fractures, dubbed “tiger stripes,” which are also the source of the geysers that erupt from the polar region. The infrared radiation was mapped at wavelengths between 12 and 16 microns.

The infrared data, shown in false color, are superimposed on a grayscale image mosaic of the south pole obtained by Cassini’s cameras on July 14, 2005, during the previous close Enceladus flyby. Numbers on the map indicate latitude and longitude.

Image credits: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

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