Moons · Moon
Enceladus is the most reflective body in the Solar System, kept bright white by ice from its own geysers.
Featured palette: Cassini view (Sampled from this image)
#A8A8AC#E0DBDE#B4B7BB#8E9499#656C70#3D4145#131518
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech (Voyager mosaic).
About Enceladus
Enceladus, a small moon of Saturn, has geyser-like jets that spray water vapour and ice into space. Most of the ice falls back like snow, helping keep its surface bright white.
| Classification | Moon |
|---|---|
| Parent body | Saturn |
| Mean radius | 252.1 km ± 0.2 kmmean radius · NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics |
| Orbital period | 1.37 daysorbital period around Saturn · mean elements, epoch 2000-01-01.5 TDB · NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics |
Why these colours?
White on white
The Cassini view’s palette is almost all near-whites and soft greys. Its caption does not describe the colour processing, so it is labelled enhanced.
From: Cassini view Enhanced visible colour
Colour clusters describe pixels in an image; they cannot identify a mineral, a gas or a physical temperature. Shares of pixels describe the sampled region of the image, not the object’s surface.
Colours from selected views
Palettes sampled from identified images and regions, or calculated from a documented model. These values describe each image or model, not one permanent colour of Enceladus.
Cassini view
Sampled from this image · Cassini view
#A8A8ACRGB 168, 168, 172region average#E0DBDERGB 224, 219, 22227% of the region#B4B7BBRGB 180, 183, 18723% of the region#8E9499RGB 142, 148, 15318% of the region#656C70RGB 101, 108, 11214% of the region#3D4145RGB 61, 65, 6911% of the region#131518RGB 19, 21, 248% of the region
See where these colours came from
Global texture (NASA 3D Resources)
Sampled from this image · Global texture (NASA 3D Resources)
#DEDEDERGB 222, 222, 222region average#F7F7F7RGB 247, 247, 24748% of the region#C7C7C7RGB 199, 199, 19924% of the region#B4B4B4RGB 180, 180, 18013% of the region#D8D8D8RGB 216, 216, 21611% of the region#909090RGB 144, 144, 1443% of the region
See where these colours came from
Creative palettes inspired by Enceladus
A design derived from the selected representation. It is not a scientific colour measurement. Each colour keeps the sampled colour it was made from.
Snowfall
Inspired by this object
#2C2E31RGB 44, 46, 49from #131518#4B4F53RGB 75, 79, 83from #3D4145#6C7377RGB 108, 115, 119from #656C70#92999ERGB 146, 153, 158from #8E9499#BCBFC3RGB 188, 191, 195from #B4B7BB#EBE6E9RGB 235, 230, 233from #E0DBDE
Enceladus’s whites and greys spread into a crisp neutral palette.
Explore the views and the 3D model
Pick a colour from the image. Click or tap the picture to read a colour. Picked colours are yours, not catalogue samples.
Sphere with a global map A sphere carrying a global map; the shape is a sphere, not a measured shape, and the map’s own coverage gaps are shown as they are. Objects are enlarged or scaled for inspection unless stated otherwise.
Use these colours
Every palette above opens in the palette generator. With JavaScript you can also add colours to your cosmic palette, save them, make a gradient or pattern, preview them in a design or a room (you choose which colour goes on which surface), check digital accessibility and export them. Each colour keeps the view and sample it came from.
Paint matches compare digital swatches for design inspiration. They are not physical equivalents of light from space. Edits create a new design palette. The original representation remains unchanged.
Questions about Enceladus’s colours
Why is Enceladus so white?
Fresh ice from its plumes falls back onto the surface, keeping it bright.
Sources
- 3D Resources — NASA
- Enceladus the Storyteller — NASA
- Global texture (NASA 3D Resources) — NASA 3D Resources
- Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters — NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics
- Planetary Satellite Mean Elements — NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics
Image credits
- Cassini view: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute. NASA media (not copyrighted; see the NASA image and media guidelines). Resized for the web from the publisher’s file (sha256 54a5d82862482343ef0179a0722334f5ffaf053ce72b519a1bbec7b80212bfde).
- Global texture (NASA 3D Resources): NASA/JPL-Caltech (Voyager mosaic). NASA 3D Resources (free, without copyright; NASA media guidelines). Resized for the web from the publisher’s file (sha256 4e16d38b98b788468e4f005b56d04282ccfe2f086eebfb1c0e5d20d8fd65ebef).
Images were resized once for the web; colours were measured from the published files (k-means in OKLab, pcke-oklab-kmeans-1); calculated colours use the CIE 1931 2° observer. Facts last reviewed 25 October 2026. Catalogue pcke-cosmos-2026-10-25, page revision 5e50367c3655. No ESA, ESO or NASA endorsement is implied.