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Saturn's moon Enceladus is only about 310 miles wide, yet it shoots jets of water vapor and ice into space from a salty ocean hidden under its icy shell.

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Saturn's moon Enceladus is only about 310 miles wide, yet it shoots jets of water vapor and ice into space from a salty ocean hidden under its icy shell.ILLUSTRATION · AI

Saturn's moon Enceladus is only about 310 miles across, but it sprays jets of water vapor and ice into space from a subsurface ocean, NASA says.

NASA calls Enceladus a small, icy world whose geysers give clues that its subsurface saltwater ocean could be a possible habitat for life. Its surface is bright white and, in some places, remarkably smooth.

Enceladus orbits Saturn at about 148,000 miles, between the moons Mimas and Tethys. NASA's Cassini spacecraft came within about 16 miles of its surface in 2008.

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