Enceladus, one of the icy moons of the planet Saturn, is for the first time in the history of nearby photographed.
During a special mission of NASA is a space probe this week at about 1839 km away along the surface of the moon.
For scientists are valuable images, because the north pole of Enceladus up close for the first time. During previous missions I managed not to take pictures, because the area when was not illuminated by the Sun.
Researchers hope there now find out if there just like on the South Pole of Enceladus so-called "ijsgeisers". White frosty material injection there thousands of kilometers up. The scientists also want to know if there are any cracks in the surface of the icy moon.
Enceladus is seen as a celestial body where perhaps life is possible. Recently, there is still a vast underground Ocean discovered.
In two weeks, NASA goes one step further. Then it's intended that space probe Cassini at a distance of 49 km photos is going to make of the icy moon. The researchers hope to find out even more about the frozen surface of Enceladus.
http://nos.nl/ © NASA
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