“Enceladus in Silhouette: NASA's Cassini Captures Saturn's Icy Moon Backlit by the Sun” — what this page in the network covers. NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) for November 5, 2026, features Enceladus, Saturn's sixth-largest moon, in a dramatic silhouette against the Sun. The image, captured by the Cassini spacecraft, shows the moon's icy surface and towering plumes of water vapor backlit, revealing the fine parti The image, captured by the Cassini spacecraft, shows the moon's icy surface and towering plumes of water vapor backlit, revealing the fine particles ejected from its subsurface ocean.
Enceladus is a prime target in the search for life beyond Earth, and this view highlights the dynamic geology of a world only 500 kilometers across. The silhouette emphasizes the moon's smooth, crater-free regions and the active south polar fractures known as 'tiger stripes,' from which the plumes erupt. The full version stays on the original page, which this listing opens directly.