From the latest batch of Cassini images:



Looks rather convincing! The plumes seem to originate from the "tiger stripe" area, which is known to be very young and geologically active.

If the plumes are indeed real, Enceladus will be only the fourth body in our Solar system, where volcanism has been seen in action!

However, just looking these pictures overexposure or similar image blemishes can't be totally excluded.

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Science is a way of trying not to fool yourself. The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.
-- Richard Feynman

Another view with a longer exposure:

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Science is a way of trying not to fool yourself. The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.
-- Richard Feynman

Notice how Cassini has rotated between the exposures, but the plumes stay at fixed position relative to Enceladus. This is a strong evidence for volcanic plumes.

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Science is a way of trying not to fool yourself. The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.
-- Richard Feynman

Ack - you beat me to that by the two minutes I spent checking the simulator. Obvious image artifacts can be ruled out by the multiple images at different angular orientations, and it's not that the Sun is actually behind Enceladus and Saturn illuminating it or anything. That would make the backlighting from the outer corona, if I get the geometry right. This is quite a coup for the Cassini team - watch for these in the newscasts!

Wow, this is big news....we need to send a orbiter there soon...that would be cool.

Fountains of Enceladus
http://ciclops.org/view.php?id=1688

So now we need to figure out *why* Enceladus is active in this way, and why (to me anyway) it seems that so many of Saturn's moons have experienced some sort of geological activity.

I wonder if this is related to the preponderance of very large craters that can be found on many Saturnian moons.

...John...

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"There is a technical, literary term for those who mistake the opinions and beliefs of characters in a novel for those of the author. The term is 'idiot'."
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Well,

You all seem happy with the "ice volcano" explanation, but to me it seems very unlikely that volcanic plumes can be ejected under an angle from Enceladus' surface. Besides, the temperature difference measured at the "tiger stripes" is not very high, how can it generate any "fountains"? They look more like streamers, pity they don't have a time-lapse movie, it could show how the wispy streamers really move. I think they are more akin to cometary jets, or even the streamers visible above the solar surface.

Cheers.

Cassini news release: Multiple Cassini Instruments Capture Enceladus Plume



VIMS instrument has detected the plumes of Enceladus and has confirmed that the moon is the source of the E ring.

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Science is a way of trying not to fool yourself. The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.
-- Richard Feynman

I agree with VanderL. Cometary jets are a more apt description than volcanoes. When I think of volcanoes, I think of a big mountain with a crater on top. Considering the gravity of Enceladus, a geyser such as Old Faithful would would blast water vapour into the E ring.

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I'm not a scientist, but I play one on the internet.
http://www.rrac.org

Did anyone notice the similarity between Enceladus' tail and Prometheus' tail?
Prometheus was thought to "steal" material from one of the rings, but unless we have some time-lapse images they could very well be similar to the jets from Enceladus. Detailed analysis could verify their cometary nature (filaments and streamers). Of course sunlight can't be responsible, but Saturn has a strong magnetosphere present throughout the rings and moons.

Cheers.

You might want to hold off on plans for that ice-fishing trip to Enceladus.

University of Illinois press release: Scientists propose alternate model for plume on Enceladus

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This seems to open up another question, though (doesn't it always?)

What is causing the clathrates to migrate to the surface and being exposed to vacuum?

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"Arrrgh, the laws of physics be a harsh mistress!" -- Bender

Very interesting information HERE

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Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius (and a lot of courage) to move in the opposite direction....Albert Einstein.

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So I guess you could describe them as Solid State geysers

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PW -- Plant Whisperer

For fear of being banned, as per the warning HERE, mods can move to the ATM, but

tp://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-details.cfm?imageID=2276

These are not the people to propose something ATM, are they?

Confused

For fear of being banned, as per the warning ttp://www.bautforum.com/showthread.php?t=51038, mods can move it to the ATM section, but...

tp://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-details.cfm?imageID=2276

These are not the people to propose something ATM, are they?

Confused

Awesome photo!

It is one thing to say there is an interaction between the plumes and the magnetosphere of Saturn, and a much more ATM thing to link to Thunderbolts and give a straight EU explanation saying that somehow there is a huge current between the two objects because the moon is highly charged.

I'm not sure why you are posting this, whether you are questioning the moderation policies, or hoping for a clearly defined line that you shouldn't cross (you won't get one), or some other reason. But this line of questioning is off-topic. If you want to discuss the plumes of Enceladus, lets keep talking. If you want to discuss EU, move it to the ATM section. If you want to discuss moderation policy, open a thread in About BAUT.

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Forming opinions as we speak

Don't recall linking to Thunderbolts, do they have a good explination?