File:EN003 Seeing Enceladus Faults.jpg

Southern Samarkand Sulci on Saturn's moon Enceladus

Original caption released with image:

This high-resolution image from Cassini shows a 70 kilometer x 84 kilometer (43 mile x 52 mile) region of "smooth plains" terrain on Enceladus' surface located slightly north of the equator on the moon's Saturn-facing hemisphere.

The image shows a variety of tectonic features that attest to Enceladus' dynamic geological history. At the top of the image is a relatively fresh-looking crevasse system with individual fractures that are over a kilometer wide. The crevasse system crosscuts a complex northeast-to-southwest-trending system of older faults. A 12 kilometer (7 mile) -wide band of crudely aligned, chevron-shaped features runs down the center of the image.

Among the most intriguing features in this view are a series of dark, small, 125 to 750 meter (400 to 2,500 feet) diameter spots. The dark spots often seem to be aligned in chains parallel to narrow fractures. The contrast of the dark features with the surrounding bright terrain suggests that they may be compositionally distinct, but their origin is a new Enceladus mystery.

The orientation of the image is such that north is approximately 30 degrees clockwise from the bottom of the frame. Enceladus is 505 kilometers, 314 miles in diameter.

The image was taken in visible light with the narrow angle camera on February 17, 2005, from a distance of 21,208 kilometers (13,178 miles) from Enceladus and at a Sun-Enceladus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 27 degrees. Pixel scale in the image is 125 meters (410 feet) per pixel. The image has been contrast-enhanced to aid visibility.

This file is in the public domain because it was created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy) Warnings: Use of NASA logos, insignia and emblems is restricted per US law 14 CFR 1221. The NASA website hosts a large number of images from the Soviet/Russian space agency, and other non-American space agencies. These are not in the public domain. Materials from the Hubble Space Telescope may be copyrighted if they do not explicitly come from the STScI. [1] All materials created by the SOHO probe are copyrighted and require permission for commercial non-educational use. [2] Images featured on the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) web site may be copyrighted. [3] PD Public domain false false

This file is a candidate to be copied to Wikimedia Commons. Any user may perform this transfer; refer to Wikipedia:Moving files to Commons for details. If this file has problems with attribution, copyright, or is otherwise ineligible for Commons, then remove this tag and DO NOT transfer it; repeat violators may be blocked from editing. Other Instructions Endorse this file for transfer by adding |human=<your username> to this Template. If this file is freely licensed, but otherwise unsuitable for Commons (e.g. out of Commons' scope, still copyrighted in the US), then replace this Template with {{Do not move to Commons|reason=<Why it can't be moved>}} If you think that a local copy of this file should be retained, then replace this Template with {{Keep local|reason=<Why a local copy is needed>}} Please ensure that the file has a properly descriptive and unambiguous name before transferring; see Wikipedia:File mover#What files should be renamed? for details.

This file was suggested for transfer by a bot (User:Svenbot). Please verify that this file is suitable for Commons before transferring it.

This media file is either in the public domain or published under a free license, and contains no inbound file links. If this media file is useful, then it should be transferred to the Wikimedia Commons. If this media is not useful, then please propose it for deletion or list it at files for discussion.