The Outer Planets by Britannica Educational Publishing

The Outer Planets by Britannica Educational Publishing

Author:Britannica Educational Publishing
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Britannica Educational Publishing
Published: 2012-03-14T16:00:00+00:00


The crater-scarred surface of Hyperion, a major moon of Saturn, appears in an image taken by the Cassini spacecraft. Hyperion’s interior may be a loose collection of ice blocks interspersed with holes, which would account for its low mean density (half that of water ice) and would explain its unusual “spongy” appearance. NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Portions of Enceladus are geologically active today. It is Saturn’s brightest moon, with a surface of almost pure water ice. A hot spot near its south pole fuels geysers that spew large amounts of water vapor and water ice. The water ice particles from these eruptions form Saturn’s E ring. The surface of Enceladus has few large craters overall and some crater-free areas that must have formed fairly recently. This suggests that it may have been internally active recently in other areas besides the south.



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