Saturn Enceladus

Saturn's moon, Enceladus, unveils a huge geyser spurting from its south pole as the Cassini spacecraft collected data.

By: Sara Smith
Mar 12, 2008, 5:59 PM EDT

The Cassini spacecraft has collected photos from Enceladus which unveiled the most dramatic geological features of the entire solar system.

Enceladus is one of about 60 moons of Saturn.

The spacecraft, dubbed Cassini, collected data as it passed Saturn's moon Enceladus on Wednesday that showed a huge geyser spurting from its south pole.

Scientists of the joint US-European joint mission collected samples of ice and gas shooting about 500 miles into space. Scientists are hoping observations and samples collected will enable them to better understand the geological features.

The Enceladus geysers reminiscent of the famed Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park in the United States are shooting continuously off Enceladus at about 900 miles per hour (1,450 kph).

The source of the geysers leads some scientists to believe they may be heated liquid water, perhaps even an ocean, under the frozen surface.

The geysers may also be the source of the particles in one of Saturn's rings.

Scientists involved in the mission from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said Cassini was passing as close as 30 miles above the surface, although not that close around the geysers.