CICLOPS: Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for OPerationS

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Iceball Among Snowballs

 

Enceladus (504 kilometers, 313 miles across) seems to hover above the outer reaches of Saturn’s B ring. Below and to the right of Enceladus, four faint bands lie in the center of the dark Cassini Division.

Recently, scientists have speculated that the particles that make up the dense B and A rings might be more like fluffy snowballs than hard ice cubes. The conclusion is based on temperature data obtained by Cassini.

Enceladus is on the near side of the rings in this view.

The image was taken in visible light with the narrow angle camera on September 15, 2005, from a distance of approximately 2.3 million kilometers (1.4 million miles) from Enceladus. The image scale is 14 kilometers (9 miles) per pixel on Enceladus.

 

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Iceball Among Snowballs
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