• Key Information

  • Enceladus

  • Type
    Moon (of Saturn)
  • Diameter
    318.9 miles
  • Distance from Saturn
    147,854 miles
  • Orbit Time
    1.370 days
  • Length of Day
    1.370 days
  • Time around Sun
    29.4571 Earth years
  • Atmosphere
    91% water vapor, 4% nitrogen, 3.2% carbon dioxide, 1.7% methane
  • Temperature
    -198 to -400 °F
  • Date of Discovery
    August 28, 1789, William Herschel
  • Learning Point
  • One of the major moons of Saturn, Enceladus is still considerably smaller than the largest moon Titan. It is thought to have a liquid ocean below the surface, and has been found to have active cryovolcanoes, with plumes of ice and water visible on many images taken by Cassini.
  • Project
  • Draw Enceladus with its cryovolcanoes orbiting Saturn.
  • Location
  • Located in
    Solar System, orbiting Saturn
  • Fun Facts
  • Enceladus is the 6th largest moon of Saturn, and the 19th largest in the Solar System.
  • The moon is know to have cyrovolcanoes, volcano-like eruptions of water and ice from below the surface.
  • The escaping ice and water from the moon is thought to be the source of the E ring of Saturn.
  • The source of the cryovolcanoes on Enceladus is thought to be movement of the surface, creating heat that allows warmer water and ice to move to the surface.