5/25/2023 0 Comments Nasa saturn moon atlasScientists found that hydrothermal activity may be occurring on the seafloor of the moon’s underground ocean. Since then, the Saturn moon has become one of the most promising places in the solar system to search for present-day habitable environments. The surface is believed to be geologically “young”, possibly less than 100 million years old.Ĭassini first discovered continually-erupting fountains of icy material on Enceladus in 2005. This moon is about as wide as Arizona, and displays at least five different types of terrain. Now, the health spacecraft is making exciting new discoveries in a second extension mission!Įnceladus is one of Saturn’s many moons, and is one of the brightest objects in our solar system. It has also completed its first mission extension in September 2010. Cassini is a sophisticated robotic spacecraft orbiting the ringed planet and studying the Saturnian system in detail.Ĭassini completed its initial four-year mission to explore the Saturn System in June 2008. Our Cassini mission to Saturn is one of the most ambitious efforts in planetary space exploration ever mounted. Saturn cassini moons enceladus titan atlas saturnsmoons galileo solarsystem space nasa planetsīefore we tell you about Enceladus, let’s first talk about our Cassini spacecraft… Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: Want to learn more? Read our full list of the 10 things to know this week about the solar system HERE. Ocean worlds could be the answer to life in space and two of Saturn’s moons-Titan and Enceladus-are on that list. Saturn can’t support life as we know it, but some of its moons have conditions that might support life. Saturn’s moon Atlas looks like a flying saucer. Saturn has a total of 62 moons: 53 known moons, with an additional nine moons awaiting confirmation. No other mission has ever explored this unique region before, and what we learn from these final orbits will help us understand of how giant planets-and planetary systems everywhere-form and evolve. From now until September, the Cassini spacecraft is performing a set of daring dives every week between the planet and the rings. Saturn’s spectacular ring system is made up of seven rings with several gaps and divisions between them. Check out June’s “What’s Up?” video for a how-to guide. This month is a great time to observe Saturn from Earth. Since 2004, Cassini has been exploring Saturn and its moons and rings-but will complete its journey on Sept. Only a handful of missions have made their way to Saturn: Pioneer 11, Voyager 1 and 2, and Cassini-Huygens, which is there now. The planet’s temperatures can dip to -220 degrees F. That’s because you can’t stand on Saturn-it’s a gas-giant planet and doesn’t have a solid surface. The planet makes a complete orbit around the sun (a year in Saturnian time) in 29 Earth years, or 10,756 Earth days. One day on Saturn takes just 10.7 hours (the time it takes for Saturn to rotate or spin once). Saturn orbits our sun and is the sixth planet from the sun at an average distance of about 886 million miles or 9.5 AU. These “ears” were later discovered to be the rings of Saturn. He drew in his notes a triple-bodied planet system with ears. When Galileo Galilei was observing Saturn in the 1600s, he noticed strange objects on each side of the planet. This week, here are 10 things you need to know about our fascinating ringed neighbor. We’ve been up close and personal with Saturn for 13 years now, thanks to the Cassini mission.įrom a tour of Saturn’s many enthralling moons to an incredible view of Earth through its rings, the planet continues to captivate the imagination.
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