cassinihuygens
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‘Tiger Stripes’ on Enceladus Linked to Moon’s Spectacular Geysers
Jostling on the fault lines of Enceladus’ frozen crust may be responsible for the plumes of icy material spewing from the moon’s watery underbelly, according to a team of researchers that recently modeled the motion. The team’s study focused on Enceladus’ “tiger stripes”—long fissures mostly located in southern swaths of the moon that some thought…
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Then and Now: Our Earliest Close-Ups of the Planets Compared to Today’s Best Shots
For centuries, astronomers were limited to ground-based observations of the planets, but now we use spacecraft to capture close-up views of our neighboring worlds. Excitingly, our views of solar system planets have been getting progressively better over the decades, as these images attest. The dawn of the Space Age finally made it possible for humankind…
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NASA Plans to Visit a Toxic Moon—Here’s How It’s Testing a ‘Dragonfly’ for the Mission
Dragonfly’s flight system is undergoing rigorous testing in a wind tunnel, with varying wind speeds to simulate the environment of Saturn’s moon Titan.
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Saturn’s Moon Enceladus Is Belching Up a Key Life Ingredient
Scientists have found traces of phosphorus, a fundamental ingredient for life, in ice grains spewed into space by Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons.