Question 1

True or false: Geysers on Enceladus shoot water hundreds of miles into space.

Accepted Answer

True. Cassini observed plumes of water vapor and ice grains erupting from Enceladus's south pole, reaching hundreds of miles high.

Question 2

True or false: Enceladus is the largest moon of Saturn.

Accepted Answer

False. Titan is Saturn's largest moon; Enceladus is only about 310 miles across, roughly one-seventh Titan's size.

Question 3

True or false: Enceladus has a global ocean of liquid water hidden beneath its icy crust.

Accepted Answer

True. NASA's Cassini mission confirmed a salty subsurface ocean under Enceladus's icy shell, kept liquid by tidal heating from Saturn's gravity.

Question 4

True or false: Enceladus is the only moon in the solar system with active volcanoes.

Accepted Answer

False. Io (Jupiter) has active volcanoes; Enceladus has cryovolcanoes that erupt water vapor and ice, not molten rock.

Question 5

True or false: Enceladus was discovered by Galileo in 1610.

Accepted Answer

False. William Herschel discovered Enceladus in 1789, not Galileo. Galileo discovered Jupiter's moons, not Saturn's.

Question 6

True or false: Enceladus has a thick atmosphere made mostly of nitrogen.

Accepted Answer

False. Enceladus has only a tenuous atmosphere (exosphere) from its plumes, mostly water vapor, not thick nitrogen like Titan.

Question 7

True or false: Enceladus likely has hydrothermal vents on its ocean floor similar to Earth's.

Accepted Answer

True. Cassini detected silica nanoparticles and molecular hydrogen in Enceladus's plumes, strong evidence of hydrothermal activity on the seafloor.

Question 8

True or false: Enceladus's surface temperature can drop to -330 degrees Fahrenheit.

Accepted Answer

True. Enceladus reflects most sunlight, making its surface extremely cold, around -330°F, despite internal heat from tidal forces.

Enceladus Trivia Questions