Image 4-19
Geysers on Enceladus

Ever since the early Voyager encounters with Saturn, the icy moon Enceladus was thought to be geologically active. It was also believed to have a liquid ocean beneath its icy crust. In 2005, NASA's Cassini spacecraft saw evidence of ice geysers erupting from the surface of Enceladus. On November 27, Cassini captured this amazing image showing plumes of icy material erupting from the small moon. The strong gravitational forces of Saturn stretch and tug at Enceladus. The friction creates heat and pressure, causing liquid water to be squeezed out through cracks in the moon's surface.