"What
a difference seven years can make. Before 2004 Saturn's moon Enceladus
was just another of the 61 significant natural satellites in this
system. Yes, it was exceptionally reflective, its snowy white surface
pretty much the highest reflectivity of any body in the solar system.
Yes, it appeared to have a particularly youthful, less cratered surface,
as seen by Voyager 2's brief incursion. This was an intriguing but
incomplete suggestion of geophysical activity. But overall there really
wasn't anything that suggested it would be more than another of the
beautifully individual large moons around the great ringed world.
Then along comes Cassini. Not
only did Enceladus show clear signs of a complex and geophysically
active (or is that cryophysically active?) surface but it was spewing
what seemed to be geysers of icy water particles out into the cold space
of the Saturnian system. Scanning towards its southern polar region
revealed that the great 'tiger-stripe' fissures were significantly hotter than their surroundings - although still frigid by our terrestrial standards [continuar a ler ...].
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