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A Journey to the End of Time

The Solar System in 3D, in real time

A simulation of the Solar System driven by real ephemerides. The Sun, the planets, Pluto and the major moons, space probes, the International Space Station, nearby stars and the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way are where they really are at the chosen moment. You can run time from 1700 to 2100, fly from one object to another and look at the sky from anywhere on Earth.

Enceladus

Moon of Saturn

Facts

Mean diameter
504 km
Mean distance from the planet
238,400 km
Orbital period
1.37 days
Discovery
William Herschel, 28 August 1789

Enceladus is a small moon of Saturn and the most reflective body in the Solar System. Jets of icy particles and gas stream out of its south pole, fed by a global ocean beneath the ice: the Cassini probe discovered them in 2005, and they supply Saturn's E ring.

At the south pole the ice shell may be only about 1 to 5 km thick. Enceladus has most of the chemical ingredients needed for life and probably hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor. It is named after a giant of Greek mythology.

Sources