Cassini's return to the plumes
Thu Oct 29, 2009 at 20:33 UTC
On November 2, 2009, Cassini will make its deepest plume passage yet, flying 102.7 kilometers (63.8 miles) from the surface of Enceladus.
The plume passage will allow in situ measurements by fields-and-particles instruments such as the Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer and the Cosmic Dust Analyzer, to gain an understanding of plume and surface composition, and to investigate temporal variability in the plume by comparing with data from previous flybys.
This is the seventh targeted flyby of Enceladus, sometimes referred to as "E-7."
Flyby Description PDF (1.2 MB).
Damascus Sulcus is one of several prominent linear structures, dubbed "tiger stripes," within the geologically active south polar region of Enceladus. Damascus Sulcus consists of two large parallel ridges separated by a deep V-shaped medial trough. The ridges are each 100 to 150 meters high (325 to 500 feet), while the entire width of Damascus Sulcus is 5 kilometers (3 miles). The medial trough between the ridges is 200 to 250 meters (650 to 820 feet) deep, and may have formed by daily shear (sliding) faulting triggered by tidal forces.
These medial troughs may be the primary source of numerous jets making up the large active water vapor plume over the south pole of Enceladus. Several small ridges can be seen along the floor of the medial trough. These could be blocks of crust that have slid down the walls of the trough or fractured blocks pushed up from below. Flanking Damascus Sulcus are repeating sets of broken and disrupted parallel ridges a few tens of meters high. These are typical of the plains that lie between the tiger stripe structures and resemble crumpled or folded rock patterns seen on Earth. Relief has been exaggerated by a factor of ~10 to enhance clarity.
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute/Universities Space Research Association/Lunar & Planetary Institute
| Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory | |
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