Saturn’s Moon Enceladus Poster – Version B

Enhanced color view shows massive plume erupting from the crescent of Enceladus.
CreditNASA
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Version B of the Enceladus installment of our solar system poster series.

The posters are best printed on 11x17 paper. Several download options are available in the column on the right.

About the image: Cassini images of Enceladus backlit by the Sun show the fountain-like sources of the fine spray of material that towers over the south polar region. The greatly enhanced and colorized image shows the enormous extent of the fainter, larger-scale component of the plume. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

On the Back

Back of poster with orbit diagram and size comparison
Optional back with a brief summary and orbit diagram.

Few worlds in our solar system are as compelling as Saturn’s icy ocean moon Enceladus.

A handful of worlds are thought to have liquid water oceans beneath their frozen shell, but Enceladus sprays its ocean out into space where a spacecraft can sample it.

From these samples, scientists have determined that Enceladus has most of the chemical ingredients needed for life, and likely has hydrothermal vents spewing out hot, mineral-rich water into its ocean.

About as wide as Arizona, Enceladus also has the whitest, most reflective surface in the solar system. The moon creates a ring of its own as it orbits Saturn—its spray of icy particles spreads out into the space around its orbit, circling the planet to form Saturn’s E ring.

Enceladus is named after a giant in Greek mythology.

Explore Enceladus in depth at https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/enceladus