Tiger Stripes The Icy Jets of Enceladus

by Lucy West

Title

Tiger Stripes The Icy Jets of Enceladus

Artist

Lucy West

Medium

Digital Art - Digital And Acrylic Painting Composite

Description

"Tiger Stripes" wins BEST IN SHOW at Spacefest V, 2013!

From the South Pole of the frozen surface of Enceladus, enormous, effervescent jets of icy brine spew volumes of vapor and ice particles at high speeds. Some of the material is jettisoned into space where it is snared by Saturn's gravity wherein Saturn's hazy "E" ring is created. The organic-rich compounds that make up this salty spray marks Enceladus as a potential habitable zone candidate!

Scientists theorize the jets originate deep below the moon's thick ice cap in a warm subsurface ocean and find their pressurized escape from vents along the steep "Tiger Stripe" trenches, nicknamed as such due to their distinct striping running in long veins across the moons ever-changing southern terrain.

I've been held spellbound by Enceladus since first viewing Cassini's stunning images of this little moon's sunlit jets and desolate landscapes, which can be seen at http://ciclops.org. With considerate input from Dr. Carolyn Porco, leader of Cassini Imaging Team, and astronomer Phil Plait, I was able to better understand how to render the exciting dynamics taking place on Saturn's tiny companion.

Uploaded

March 25th, 2013

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