"If you are standing at the south pole of Enceladus, which is in the ring plane, the rings have to appear not only edge on, but parallel to the horizon. The angular width of this image is 50 degrees, about what comes from a standard lens on a camera. The venting would appear variable; the gas component is giving some bluish scattering, although there are some whiter ice particles and warmer toned organic dust in the plume.

For the surface, I wanted to show a scene near one of the fractures, and I visualized that in at least some places along fractures we might see shattered ice squeeze-ups, where faulting had jostled "plates" of ice against each other. I visualized some blue color showing up as sunlight passed through some of the cleaner ice slabs, as seen in glacial ice on Earth. I also indicated some coloration of the icy gravel by organics in the foreground and along the fracture at right, but the clean white ice of Enceladus, with some of the highest albedos in the solar system, can be seen in the distance."


Bill Hartmann   © 2006
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