Saturn from the surface of Enceladus
This is how Saturn may appear from the icy surface of
Enceladus, one of Saturn's eight major satellites. At a distance of 148 thousand
miles, Saturn would subtend an angle of 29 º in
Enceladus' sky, about the same width as 58 Earth
moon's lined up side-by-side.
While the surface of Enceladus
is as reflective as new fallen snow, it would probably appear leaden about an hour
before sunrise with a crescent Saturn as the only source of illumination. Like all
of Saturn's major satellites, Enceladus always keeps the same side facing its
host planet. From the perspective of a stationary observer on Enceladus, Saturn would
always appear in the same position in the sky, cycling through its phases in
about one-and-half Earth days.
This image also illustrates a
phenomenon only recently discovered by NASA's Cassini probe: sunlight
reflecting off of Saturn's rings casts a faint glow onto the cloud tops of
Saturn's night side. The illumination is about the same as three of Earth's
full moon combined.
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