--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the Voyager 2 spacecraft sped…" description: "\"When the Voyager 2 spacecraft sped through the Saturnian system more than a quarter of a century ago, it came within 90,000 kilometers of the moon Ence..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/carolyn-porco-8797_moon_when-the-voyager-2-spacecraft-sped-throu_3200569.jpg" --- # When the Voyager 2 spacecraft sped through the Saturnian… ![“When the Voyager 2 spacecraft sped through the Saturnian system more than a quarter of a century ago, it came within 90,000 kilometers of the moon Enceladus. Over the course of a few hours, its cameras returned a handful of images that confounded planetary scientists for years.” quote by Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/carolyn-porco-8797_moon_when-the-voyager-2-spacecraft-sped-throu_3200569.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/carolyn-porco-8797_moon_when-the-voyager-2-spacecraft-sped-throu_3200569.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/carolyn-porco-8797_moon_when-the-voyager-2-spacecraft-sped-throu_3200569.jpg) > “When the Voyager 2 spacecraft sped through the Saturnian system more than a quarter of a century ago, it came within 90,000 kilometers of the moon Enceladus. Over the course of a few hours, its cameras returned a handful of images that confounded planetary scientists for years.” [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Voyager 2's close flyby of Enceladus revealed unexpected plumes, challenging scientists' understanding of icy moons. **In simple terms:** Voyager 2 discovered surprising features on Enceladus. Key Takeaway Stay open to unexpected data that can reshape theories. Themes science exploration discovery Mood curious intrigued Type scientific inspirational When to use this quote - space mission planning - academic research - science education Key Concepts planetary science data analysis unexpected findings Questions to Reflect On - What does this discovery imply about extraterrestrial life? - How should scientists handle ambiguous data? A Different Perspective Data can be limited and interpretations may change with new evidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon/) [Quarter of a century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quarter-of-a-century/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [System](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) [Voyager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voyager/) ## Related quotes > [“This Voyager spacecraft was constructed by the United States of America. We are a community of 240 million human beings among the more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/this-voyager-spacecraft-was-constructed-by-the-united-states-of/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [“It is conventional wisdom now that anything built by the government will be a disaster. But the two "Voyager" spacecraft were built by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-conventional-wisdom-now-that-anything-built-by-the-government/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The need for a detailed, comprehensive examination of the Saturn system became clear during the early 1980s, after the two Voyager spacecraft made flybys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/the-need-for-a-detailed-comprehensive-examination-of-the-saturn/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [Between my participation in Voyager and my role in Cassini, when comes the time, I will die a happy and gratified woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/between-my-participation-in-voyager-and-my-role-in-cassini-when-comes/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [Cassini was an international undertaking, led by NASA and the European Space Agency and designed to be, in every dimension, a dramatic advance over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/cassini-was-an-international-undertaking-led-by-nasa-and-the-european/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [While I was there, Voyager flew by Saturn. I got involved with a person who was a member of the imaging team and started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/while-i-was-there-voyager-flew-by-saturn-i-got-involved-with-a-person/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [Cassini is different -- it's a mission of enormous scope and is being conducted in grand style. It is much more sophisticated than Voyager,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/cassini-is-different-it-s-a-mission-of-enormous-scope-and-is-being/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [Remember, Voyager was just a flyby, Cassini is in orbit. We have the opportunity for monitoring them and their behavior, their comings and goings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/remember-voyager-was-just-a-flyby-cassini-is-in-orbit-we-have-the/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [No matter how you measure it, whether you measure the amount of mass or you measure the number of bodies, most of our solar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/no-matter-how-you-measure-it-whether-you-measure-the-amount-of-mass/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [Nothing will ever be what the Voyager mission was,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/nothing-will-ever-be-what-the-voyager-mission-was/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [Voyager found Saturn to be a planet with a complex interior, atmosphere, and magnetosphere. In its rings - a vast, gleaming disk of icy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/voyager-found-saturn-to-be-a-planet-with-a-complex-interior/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [Now, Voyager, sail thou forth, to seek and find."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/now-voyager-sail-thou-forth-to-seek-and-find/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [The real friends of the space voyager are the stars. Their friendly, familiar patterns are constant companions, unchanging, out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-lovell/the-real-friends-of-the-space-voyager-are-the-stars-their-friendly/) [Jim Lovell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-lovell/) > [I would send the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach into outer space on the Voyager spacecraft. But that would be boasting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/i-would-send-the-complete-works-of-johann-sebastian-bach-into-outer/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“Oh Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars. - Now, Voyager”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-davis/oh-jerry-don-t-let-s-ask-for-the-moon-we-have-the-stars-now-voyager/) [Bette Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-davis/) ## More by Carolyn Porco > [As far as Europa goes, Europa very likely has an ocean under its surface. In that regard, Europa and Enceladus are on equal par.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/as-far-as-europa-goes-europa-very-likely-has-an-ocean-under-its/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [Saturn is accompanied by a very large and diverse collection of moons. They range in size from a few kilometers across to as big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/saturn-is-accompanied-by-a-very-large-and-diverse-collection-of-moons/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [Titan is the one place in our solar system whose geographical and atmospheric diversity and complexity are rivaled only by the Earth's. It's very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/titan-is-the-one-place-in-our-solar-system-whose-geographical-and/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [Boy, when you come to study something, and you come to understand it - you know, even if it's just a little discovery that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/boy-when-you-come-to-study-something-and-you-come-to-understand-it/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [Those of us engaged in the practice of science come to feel a certain reverence for it, engendered by its demonstrable power to dissect,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/those-of-us-engaged-in-the-practice-of-science-come-to-feel-a-certain/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [Most of the solar system resides beyond the orbits of the asteroids. There is more to learn there about general planetary processes than on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/most-of-the-solar-system-resides-beyond-the-orbits-of-the-asteroids/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [Nothing will ever be what the Voyager mission was,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/nothing-will-ever-be-what-the-voyager-mission-was/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [As far as I'm concerned, Enceladus has become the go-to place in our solar system for issues bearing on extraterrestrial life. It's a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/as-far-as-i-m-concerned-enceladus-has-become-the-go-to-place-in-our/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [Being a scientist and staring immensity and eternity in the face every day is as grand and inspiring as it gets,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/being-a-scientist-and-staring-immensity-and-eternity-in-the-face/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [For me, it was my first cosmic connection, on par with a first kiss. No other planet looks as unworldly or surreal as Saturn.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/for-me-it-was-my-first-cosmic-connection-on-par-with-a-first-kiss-no/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [My whole entry into astronomy started from a spiritual place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/my-whole-entry-into-astronomy-started-from-a-spiritual-place/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [Even by the diverse standards of Saturn's satellites, Enceladus was an outlier. Its icy surface was as white and bright as fresh snow, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/even-by-the-diverse-standards-of-saturn-s-satellites-enceladus-was-an/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [There's nothing in this world like being the first to discover some fundamental fact of nature. It's profoundly satisfying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/there-s-nothing-in-this-world-like-being-the-first-to-discover-some/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [The book that blew the doors off the house, grabbing me with its breathtakingly deep and irresistible view of the universe and our relation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/the-book-that-blew-the-doors-off-the-house-grabbing-me-with-its/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [Saturn is such an alluring photographic target.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/saturn-is-such-an-alluring-photographic-target/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) [Explore all 77 Carolyn Porco quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) ## More Moon quotes > [“Because as the moon followed the sun, when Illium ascended to become an archangel, Aodhan would go with him as his second.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/because-as-the-moon-followed-the-sun-when-illium-ascended-to-become/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [If you were to send a werewolf to the moon, would he be a werewolf permanently?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-schaal/if-you-were-to-send-a-werewolf-to-the-moon-would-he-be-a-werewolf/) [Kristen Schaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-schaal/) > [The moon of a bright silver, which dazzles by its shining, illumines a world which surely is no longer ours; for it resembles in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-loti/the-moon-of-a-bright-silver-which-dazzles-by-its-shining-illumines-a/) [Pierre Loti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-loti/) > [When other boys dreamt of going to the moon or becoming doctors, I wanted to be a designer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-theyskens/when-other-boys-dreamt-of-going-to-the-moon-or-becoming-doctors-i/) [Olivier Theyskens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-theyskens/) > [I loved you to the moon and back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-loved-you-to-the-moon-and-back/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [I with borrow'd silver shine, What you see is none of mine. First I show you but a quarter, Like the bow that guards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-with-borrow-d-silver-shine-what-you-see-is-none-of-mine-first-i/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > ['The Choirboys' is very much a product of its mid-1970s time, especially in its two-dimensional portrayals of cop groupies Ora Lee and Carolina Moon,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-weinman/the-choirboys-is-very-much-a-product-of-its-mid-1970s-time-especially/) [Sarah Weinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-weinman/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [You can’t bake a cake without getting the kitchen messy. Halfway through surgery it looks like there’s been a murder in the operating room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/price-pritchett/you-can-t-bake-a-cake-without-getting-the-kitchen-messy-halfway/) [Price Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/price-pritchett/) > [“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars." ... quote has been credited to Les Brown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylviek/shoot-for-the-moon-even-if-you-miss-it-you-will-land-among-the-stars/) Sylviek > [I was too tired to think. I merely felt the town as a unique unreality. What was it? I knew -- the moon's picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-too-tired-to-think-i-merely-felt-the-town-as-a-unique-unreality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If we can send a guy to the moon we can certainly go a quarter of a mile and not get hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-prudhomme/if-we-can-send-a-guy-to-the-moon-we-can-certainly-go-a-quarter-of-a/) Don Prudhomme > [Never ignore a person who love you, care fot you,and misses you,because one day,you might wake up and realize, you lost the moon while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chou/never-ignore-a-person-who-love-you-care-fot-you-and-misses-you/) Chou > [There was only the broad square with the scattered dim moons of the street lamps and with the monumental stone arch which receded into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/there-was-only-the-broad-square-with-the-scattered-dim-moons-of-the/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [The sky was a sparkling succession of black diamonds on black velvet made crystal clear by the blackout.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/the-sky-was-a-sparkling-succession-of-black-diamonds-on-black-velvet/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) [Browse all 6,418 Moon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When the Voyager 2 spacecraft sped through the Saturnian system more than a quarter of a century ago, it came within 90,000 kilometers of the moon Enceladus. 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