Earth has only one moon, but Saturn, the sixth planet in the
solar system, has up to 146 moons. One of the important moons, Enceladus, has
been a great mystery to scientists when studying it.
Enceladus reflects the light falling on the moon exactly,
which is why it appears very bright. It is noteworthy that the moon, the moon
of the Earth, reflects only 11 per cent of the light. When they carefully
examined the reason why Enceladus reflects light completely, they found that
craters like volcanic craters were not found on the surface of Enceladus.
Usually, volcanic rocks burn up due to friction in the
atmosphere and turn into ash, so they do not reach the surface of the Earth or
the surface of any planet in the atmosphere. If there is no atmosphere,
volcanic rocks fall on the planet and create large craters like volcanic
craters.
Therefore, the surface of a planet or satellite without an
atmosphere will be uneven and full of ridges and valleys. Our moon is so ridged
that it has little ability to reflect light. Scientists are amazed at how the
Enceladus satellite, which also has no atmosphere, is smooth and round without
ridges and valleys.
Jupiter's moon Io is similar, so Enceladus can be compared to
Io, but this complicates the puzzle even more. Io's orbit is elliptical, which
causes gravitational stresses and heats up Io's interior.
This causes the interior to melt and expel heat, flattening
the surface. Enceladus' orbit is perfectly circular, so it cannot cause
gravitational stresses or heat the interior of the planet. It has also been
suggested that Saturn's rings may be responsible. Recently, some scientists
have suggested that Enceladus' orbit may also be elliptical, like Io's.