How finger-like structures seen in Saturn's moon Enceladus vicinity formed

ANI | Updated: Apr 15, 2015, 05:25 PM IST

This collage, consisting of two Cassini images of long, sinuous, tendril-like features from Saturn's moon Enceladus and two corresponding computer simulations of the same, illustrates how well the structures, and the sizes of the particles composing them, can be modeled by tracing the trajectories of tiny, icy grains ejected from Enceladus' south polar geysers. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

A new study has revealed that long, tendril-like structures seen in the vicinity of Saturn's icy moon Enceladus originated directly from geysers erupting from its south polar region surface.

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These results also found that the structures are composed of particles about a millionth of a metre in size. As the researchers examined images from different times and positions around Saturn, they also found that the detailed appearance of the tendrils changes over time.

The authors suspect that changes in the tendrils' appearance likely result from the cycle of tidal stresses, the squeezing and stretching of the moon as it orbits Saturn. The stronger the tidal stresses raised by Saturn at any point on the fractures, the wider the fracture opening and the greater the eruption of material.

The study is published in the Astronomical Journal.