Get to know Saturn's sixth largest moon, which has the most reflective surface of any object in our solar system, with this stunning 12" desktop globe.
Astronomy magazine is proud to unveil the all-new Enceladus Globe - available exclusively through MyScienceShop.com. Using data from Cassini flybys from October and November of 2009, images were selected on overall quality, resolution, and viewing angle to bring out the topography and surface features of the moon.
Over the course of Cassini's life, the spacecraft completed 23 flybys if Enceladus, providing a slew of data about the small moon that researches will continue analyzing for years to come. Among Cassini's most tantalizing discoveries are:
- Enceladus probably has a liquid water ocean beneath its surface.
- Based on measurements of Enceladus' orbit, the ocean is most likely global, meaning it lies beneath the entire surface at a depth of 19 to 25 miles.
- Enceladus' plumes eject water vapor into space and are the source of most of the ice in Saturn's E Ring.
Cassini’s Imaging Science Subsystem instrument took many pictures that helped scientists measure Enceladus’ size. The moon actually has three diameters. It measures 319 miles (513 km) across between the points on its surface closest to and farthest from Saturn. It measures 313 miles (503 km) between the hemisphere that leads it in its orbit and the one that trails behind. And it measures 309 miles (497 km) between its north and south poles.
This richly detailed, injection-molded 12" desktop globe shows 80 of Enceladus' named surface features (a few were removed from the south pole due to the manufacturing process). The six types of features identified on the moon include craters, dorsa, fossae, planitiae, rupes, and sulci.
Each globe is made of long-lasting durable plastic with just a single seam between hemispheres and comes with a clear acrylic display base and informational flyer.