C-shape section of E ring with ghostly moon in the middle

Solar System

Phosphates Swim in the Ocean of Saturn's Moon Enceladus

Scientists detected phosphorous in an extraterrestrial ocean for the first time when they analyzed data from Saturn's moon Enceladus.

Enceladus's plumes

Solar System

Do the Plumes from Saturn’s Icy Moon Reach Down to Its Ocean?

The plumes erupting from Saturn's moon Enceladus may originate in slush in the moon's icy crust rather than its deep, subsurface ocean.

Tiger Stripes on Enceladus

Solar System

How Saturn's Moon Got Its Stripes

Astronomers have struggled to understand the origin of the parallel fractures on Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus, known as “tiger stripes,” from which water-ice spews into space. Now, a single explanation ties all the pieces together.

Saturn's moon Enceladus

Astrobiology

Potential Trouble for Life on Icy Moons

A lack of dry land on moons such as Europa and Enceladus might make it difficult to seed oceans with phosphorus, an element essential for life as we know it.

artist's concept of Cassini at Enceladus

Astrobiology

Enceladus: Hydrothermal Heating Confirmed

Astronomers have more evidence that the hidden ocean inside Saturn’s moon Enceladus is heated by hydrothermal activity.

Enceladus on 28 October 2015

Space Missions

Cassini Flies Through Enceladus's Plume

On October 28th, the Cassini spacecraft took its deepest dive through the water plume spewing from the south pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. It passed only 30 miles (50 kilometers) above the icy surface.