A Cassini spacecraft image taken on November 1, 2009, shows Saturn’s moon Enceladus in silhouette as sunlight illuminates plumes streaming from its south pole. The moon is about 500 kilometers in diameter, and its icy jets were first discovered by Cassini in 2005.
The plumes are thought to connect with an ocean beneath Enceladus’ ice shell. They send material into Saturn’s faint outer E ring, while the moon’s icy surface reflects light as brightly as snow.
Saturn’s rings scatter sunlight across the scene. In the lower-right area, the night side of Pandora, an 80-kilometer-wide moon, is faintly illuminated by light reflected from Saturn.
Sources: NASA Breaking News.