Subj : Daily APOD Report To : All From : Alan Ianson Date : Sun Aug 25 2024 00:56:24 Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2024 August 25 A light-colored spherical body is shown mostly illuminated against a dark background. Many craters are visible. Unusual blue stripes meander on the surface. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Fresh Tiger Stripes on Saturn's Enceladus Image Credit: NASA, ESA, JPL, SSI, Cassini Imaging Team Explanation: Do underground oceans vent through canyons on Saturn's moon Enceladus? Long features dubbed tiger stripes are known to be spewing ice from the moon's icy interior into space, creating a cloud of fine ice particles over the moon's South Pole and creating Saturn's mysterious E-ring. Evidence for this has come from the robot Cassini spacecraft that orbited Saturn from 2004 to 2017. Pictured here, a high resolution image of Enceladus is shown from a close flyby. The unusual surface features dubbed tiger stripes are visible in false-color blue. Why Enceladus is active remains a mystery, as the neighboring moon Mimas, approximately the same size, appears quite dead. An analysis of ejected ice grains has yielded evidence that complex organic molecules exist inside Enceladus. These large carbon-rich molecules bolster -- but do not prove -- that oceans under Enceladus' surface could contain life. Explore Your Universe: Random APOD Generator Tomorrow's picture: sky wows __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. --- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7 * Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757) .