Enceladus Accomplishments

Saturn's geologically active moon Enceladus, with a diameter of approximately 505 kilometres, is small enough to fit inside the borders of India. Despite it’s small size and large distance from the, the unique conditions on this moon make it one of the most promising sites for hosting life in the Milky Way. In consice term, we can make this conjecture because there are hydrothermal vents spread across Enclelads which spew water vapour and granulated ice prticles from an underground ocean. The spewed plume includes many organic substances and gases along with salts and silicates. This along with many other factors, which we will be talking about later, can be generalized to make an environment habitable for life.
Encelads was first observed on 28th August, 1789, by Sir William Herschel, when he focused his 47 inch telescope on a small dot near Saturn. The diminunative size of Enceladus and the glare from Saturn and it’s ring sheilded it from discovery. Herschel's observations coincided with the equinox of Saturn, when Earth's perspective on the planet resulted in reduced glare from the rings which helped in it’s eventual discovery. This little dot, which later proved to be of utmost interest to scientists all over, was concluded to be an undiscovered moon of Saturn. As …show more content…
The planet also experiences forced libration, where it appears to oscillate relative to Saturn’s other moons, making a resonance pattern. This resonance excites its orbital eccentricity, which is damped by tidal forces, tidally heating its interior, and possibly driving the geological activity – which may also provide Enceladus with an internal heat source. While Enceladus' surface doesn't have very many big craters, it does have a number of extensive linear cracks. These linear cracks are indicative of a surface which is constantly remaking