flyby – planetaria

Cassini prepares for last epic flyby of Saturn’s ocean moon Enceladus

December 18, 2015 by Paul Scott Anderson

Cassini’s final close flyby of Enceladus will be on Dec. 19, 2015. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The Cassini spacecraft’s discoveries about the tiny moon Enceladus have been some of the most exciting of the entire mission at Saturn. What was once thought to likely be little more than a frozen ice world has turned out to be one of the best places in the Solar System to search for evidence of possible life, with its subsurface salty ocean and huge geysers of water vapor. Now, Cassini is preparing for its last close flyby of this intriguing moon and has also made new findings regarding the potential habitability of the ocean below as well as the nature of the geysers.

Cassini completes epic flyby through geysers of Enceladus, sends back stunning new images

November 2, 2015 by Paul Scott Anderson

View of Enceladus and Saturn’s rings during the flyby on Oct. 28, 2015, at a distance of 106,000 miles (171,000 kilometers) from Enceladus. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute — View of Enceladus and Saturn’s rings during the flyby on Oct. 28, 2015, at a distance of 171,000 kilometres (106,000 miles) from Enceladus. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

The Cassini spacecraft has successfully completed its deepest dive through the water vapour geysers of Enceladus and is now sending back some fantastic images of the event. These and subsequent images, as well as science data still to come, will help scientists better understand the incredible active geology occurring on this tiny, cold moon of Saturn.