Cassini Observes the Active South Pole of Enceladus
Creators
- Porco, C. C.
- Helfenstein, P.
- Thomas, P. C.
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Ingersoll, A. P.
- Wisdom, J.
- West, R.
- Neukum, G.
- Denk, T.
- Wagner, R.
- Roatsch, T.
- Kieffer, S.
- Turtle, E.
- McEwen, A.
- Johnson, T. V.
- Rathbun, J.
- Veverka, J.
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Wilson, D.
- Perry, J.
- Spitale, J.
- Brahic, A.
- Burns, J. A.
- DelGenio, D. A.
- Dones, L.
- Murray, C. D.
- Squyres, S.
Abstract
Cassini has identified a geologically active province at the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus. In images acquired by the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS), this region is circumscribed by a chain of folded ridges and troughs at ∼55°S latitude. The terrain southward of this boundary is distinguished by its albedo and color contrasts, elevated temperatures, extreme geologic youth, and narrow tectonic rifts that exhibit coarse-grained ice and coincide with the hottest temperatures measured in the region. Jets of fine icy particles that supply Saturn's E ring emanate from this province, carried aloft by water vapor probably venting from subsurface reservoirs of liquid water. The shape of Enceladus suggests a possible intense heating epoch in the past by capture into a 1:4 secondary spin/orbit resonance.
Additional Information
© 2006 American Association for the Advancement of Science. 25 November 2005; accepted 21 February 2006. We acknowledge the financial support of NASA/JPL, the UK Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, the Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt (German Aerospace Center), and Université Paris VII Denis Diderot, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique, Astrophysique Interactions Multieschelle, France.Attached Files
Supplemental Material - PorcoCC.SOM.pdf
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PorcoCC.SOM.pdf
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Additional details
Identifiers
- Eprint ID
- 36593
- DOI
- 10.1126/science.1123013
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20130125-103250989
Related works
- Describes
- 10.1126/science.1123013 (DOI)
Funding
- NASA
- JPL
- Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC)
- Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
- Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA)
Dates
- Created
-
2013-01-25Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
-
2021-11-09Created from EPrint's last_modified field