Astronomy Picture Of The Day: Enceladus in Twilight

 

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Enceladus in Twilight: Cassini’s Final, Haunting Close-UpOn February 15, 2016, during its very last close encounter with the icy moon, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured this stunning view of Enceladus’ heavily fractured southern hemisphere from a distance of just 83,000 kilometers.The image reveals a world etched with violence and beauty. Long, linear fractures known as tiger stripes dominate the scene, glowing faintly along the day-night boundary (the terminator). Stretching left to right near this dividing line is Cashmere Sulcus. Running northward toward the curved edge of the moon is Labtayt Sulcus, while Mosul Sulcus cuts across the terrain near the left limb. At the time of the flyby, Enceladus’ south pole — home to its famous erupting geysers — was plunged deep in winter night, hidden in shadow and mystery.This final intimate portrait showcases the moon’s tortured, geologically active surface in exquisite detail: a frozen ocean world cracked open by tidal forces from Saturn, hinting at the hidden global sea beneath the ice.A fitting farewell from Cassini to one of the Solar System’s most intriguing and potentially life-bearing bodies. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute (SSI)