The Cassini-Huygens exploration of Saturn a seven-year joint venture of NASA the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency is realizing extra surprising discoveries.
Furthermore to discovering that Cassini is geologically active in contrast to its nearby neighbor Mimas Cassini has now proven that it truly is Enceladus indeed that's responsible for the E ring of Saturn.
The E ring of Saturn is Saturn?s broadest faintest ring.
Enceladus is a tiny moon 314 miles across that so bright it reflects practically one hundred percent of its heat.
For this reason it is actually a really cold moon having a temperature of near minus 330 degrees Fahrenheit.
Its orbit is influenced beneath the large gravitational pull of Saturn too as the gravitational influence of big nearby moons Tethys and Dione.
Prior voyages by Voyager also as Cassini have shown it to be a moon having sharp geological contrasts over its surface for a moon of such small size.
It has long been speculated that Enceladus has somehow been responsible for the E ring of Saturn.
An ice particle stream propelled by water vapor was first detected through the use of the High Rate Detector (HRD) of the Cosmic Dust Analyzer (CDA) on Cassini's approach of 286 miles in July.
However it was not confirmed until November 26 2005 when Cassini made the closest approach of any of Saturn's moons yet.
This orbit of 109 miles applied infrared detection to confirm the ejection of ice particles in a plume from the south pole.
This plume of ice particles confirms a theory proposed that Enceladus is a source of the fine ice particles responsible for producing up one of Saturn's rings the E ring.
The E ring is composed of ice particles near the three micron range.
The average size of particles emitted by Enceladus is within the ten micron range.
Nevertheless this theory is still consistent because the largest particles are believed to be too huge to escape the moon's gravity.
The medium-sized particles almost certainly leave the atmosphere but are pulled back before fully escaping.
Only the finest tiniest particles of the plume make it out to form the E ring.
Enceladus is quite comparable to a comet inside the way it ejects ice particles.
The difference lies inside the reality that in a comet the ice is warmed by sunlight.
The source of Enceladus's heat is largely unknown.
Some sort of internal mechanism possibly a tidal force or perhaps a radioactive mechanism is generating an huge amount of heat for such a tiny moon.
This really is the fantastic unsolved mystery behind Enceladus, plus the ultimate reason for the existence of Saturn?s E ring.
1) Enceladus Erupting A Nasa Report 12-7-05
two) Enceladus Plume Jet Propulsion Laboratory 12-6-05
three) Possible Source of E Ring Bill Arnett 2-17-05
4) Saturn: Moons: Enceladus Nasa: Solar Systems Exploration 10-6-03
5) Enceladus's Tiger Stripes are Seriously Cubs Nasa Release
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