
- Moon Name: Enceladus
- Formed: About 4.5 billion years ago
- Discovered: August 28, 1789, by William Herschel
- Distance from Saturn: Between 147,214 miles (perigee) and 148,605 miles (apogee)
- Distance from the Sun: Around 886,500,000 miles
- Time to Orbit Around Saturn: Less than two Earth Days
- Total Surface Area: 496,256 square miles
14 Enceladus Facts for Kids
- Enceladus formed about 4.5 billion years ago.
- Enceladus was discovered on August 28, 1789, by William Herschel.
- Enceladus is one of Saturn’s 82 known moons (natural satellites).
- Enceladus is the sixth largest moon of Saturn.
- Enceladus has a radius of about 156 miles.
- The closest Enceladus gets to Saturn is 147,214 miles (perigee).
- The farthest Enceladus to gets from Saturn is 148,605 miles (apogee).
- It takes Enceladus less than two Earth days to orbit Saturn.
- The surface of Enceladus is covered by fresh ice, which makes it one of the most reflective moons in our Solar System.
- Enceladus is constantly contributing to Saturn’s E ring via ice particles escaping its jet plumes.
- Enceladus has ice sheets that are between 20 to 25 miles thick.
- Underneath Enceladus’s ice sheets is lots and lots of water.
- Complex macromolecular organics were detected in a jet plume from Enceladus in 2018.
- It’s possible Enceladus could or could have evolved life.
Pictures of Saturn’s Moon Enceladus

A photo of Enceladus taken by the Cassini spacecraft.Credit: NASA

a-photo-of-the-southern-terrain-of-enceladus-moonCredit: NASA

A photo of Enceladus setting behind the planet Saturn.Credit: NASA
Additional Resources on Saturn’s Moon Enceladus
- Enceladus – Wikipedia – Continue to explore Enceladus on the Wikipedia website.
- Enceladus | Science – NASA Solar System Exploration – Learn more about Saturn’s moon Enceladus on the NASA Solar System Exploration website.
- Images of Enceladus – JPL Photojournal – Nasa – View more amazing photos of Enceladus on the JPL Photojournal website.
- Enceladus: Saturn’s Moon Dataset | Science On a Sphere – Discover more facts about Enceladus on the Science On a Sphere website.