| Literature DB >> 16527964 |
C C Porco1, P Helfenstein, P C Thomas, A P Ingersoll, J Wisdom, R West, G Neukum, T Denk, R Wagner, T Roatsch, S Kieffer, E Turtle, A McEwen, T V Johnson, J Rathbun, J Veverka, D Wilson, J Perry, J Spitale, A Brahic, J A Burns, A D Delgenio, L Dones, C D Murray, S Squyres.
Abstract
Cassini has identified a geologically active province at the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus. In images acquired by the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS), this region is circumscribed by a chain of folded ridges and troughs at approximately 55 degrees S latitude. The terrain southward of this boundary is distinguished by its albedo and color contrasts, elevated temperatures, extreme geologic youth, and narrow tectonic rifts that exhibit coarse-grained ice and coincide with the hottest temperatures measured in the region. Jets of fine icy particles that supply Saturn's E ring emanate from this province, carried aloft by water vapor probably venting from subsurface reservoirs of liquid water. The shape of Enceladus suggests a possible intense heating epoch in the past by capture into a 1:4 secondary spin/orbit resonance.Entities:
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Year: 2006 PMID: 16527964 DOI: 10.1126/science.1123013
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Science ISSN: 0036-8075 Impact factor: 47.728