Cassini Confirms Enceladus Plume Responsible for E Ring of Saturn

Cassini Confirms Enceladus Plume Responsible for E Ring of Saturn

The Cassini-Huygens exploration of Saturn, a seven-year joint venture of NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Italian Space Agency, is realizing more surprising discoveries. In addition to discovering that Cassini is geologically active in contrast to its nearby neighbor Mimas, Cassini has now proven that it is Enceladus indeed that is responsible for the E ring of Saturn. The E ring of Saturn is Saturns broadest, faintest ring.

Enceladus is a small moon 314 miles across that so bright it reflects nearly one hundred percent of its heat. For this reason, it is a very cold moon, with a temperature of near minus 330 degrees Fahrenheit. Its orbit is influenced under the large gravitational pull of Saturn as well as the gravitational influence of large nearby moons Tethys and Dione. Previous voyages by Voyager as well 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...