                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2023 February 5
   A large tan ball with multiple complex grooves is pictured. A sliver on
   the far right side appears almost white. Please see the explanation for
                         more detailed information.

                          Enceladus by Saturnshine
       Image Credit: NASA; ESA, JPL, Cassini Imaging Team, SSI; Color
                         Composite: Gordan Ugarkovic

   Explanation: This moon is shining by the light of its planet.
   Specifically, a large portion of Enceladus pictured here is illuminated
   primarily by sunlight first reflected from the planet Saturn. The
   result is that the normally snow-white moon appears in the gold color
   of Saturn's cloud tops. As most of the illumination comes from the
   image left, a labyrinth of ridges throws notable shadows just to the
   right of the image center, while the kilometer-deep canyon Labtayt
   Sulci is visible just below. The bright thin crescent on the far right
   is the only part of Enceladus directly lit by the Sun. The featured
   image was taken in 2011 by the robotic Cassini spacecraft during a
   close pass by by the enigmatic moon. Inspection of the lower left part
   of this digitally sharpened image reveals plumes of ice crystals
   thought to originate in a below-surface sea.

                     Tomorrow's picture: stars and dust
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
                NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

