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> Saturn from the surface of Enceladus

Saturn from the surface of Enceladus

author: Walter B. Myers/Novapix

reference: a-sat99-00202

Image Size 300 DPI: 33 * 25 cm

This is how Saturn may appear from the icy surface of Enceladus, one of Saturn's eight major satellites. At a distance of 148 thousand miles, Saturn would subtend an angle of 29º in Enceladus' sky, about the same width as 58 Earth moon's lined up side-by-side. While the surface of Enceladus is as reflective as new fallen snow, it would probably appear leaden about an hour before sunrise with a crescent Saturn as the only source of illumination. Like all of Saturn's major satellites, Enceladus always keeps the same side facing its host planet. From the perspective of a stationary observer on Enceladus, Saturn would always appear in the same position in the sky, cycling through its phases in about one-and-half Earth days. This image also illustrates a phenomenon only recently discovered by NASA's Cassini probe: sunlight reflecting off of Saturn's rings casts a faint glow onto the cloud tops of Saturn's night side. The illumination is about the same as three of Earth's full moon combined.

Keywords for this photo:

ASTRONOMY - ENCELADUS - ICE - ILLUSTRATION - PLANET - RING - SATELLITE - SATURN - SATURN'S MOON -