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A R C H I V E S

The so-called Tiger Stripes of the Saturnian moon Enceladus substantially consist of 4 (four) sub-parallel, Linear Depressions located in the South Polar Region of this small Celestial Body.

First observed on May 20, 2005 by the NASA - Cassini Spacecraft's Imaging Science Sub-system (ISS) camera (even though they had been already seen obliquely during an early Fly-By), these Surface Features are most notable in lower resolution images because of the sharp brightness' contrast existing between them and the surrounding Terrain. Higher resolution observations were obtained by Cassini's various instruments during another close Flyb-by of Enceladus that occurred on July 14, 2005. These observations revealed that the Tiger Stripes are relatively low Ridges with a deep Central Fracture. Observations from the Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) instrument showed that the Tiger Stripes have elevated Surface Temperatures, which is indicative of a still ongoing phenomenon of Cryovolcanism on Enceladus which is centered right on these amazing Features.

The name Tiger Stripes is an unofficial term given to these four features which was based on their quite distinctive Visual Albedo.

The Enceladean Sulci (such as sub-parallel Furrows and Ridges), like the Samarkanda Sulci and the Harran Sulci, have all been named after cities or countries referred to in The Arabian Nights collection of novels and folk tales. Accordingly, in November, 2006, the Tiger Stripes were assigned the official names of Alexandria Sulcus, Cairo Sulcus, Baghdad Sulcus and Damascus Sulcus (Camphor Sulcus is a smaller Feature that branches off Alexandria Sulcus).

Baghdad and Damascus Sulci are the most active Enceleadean Geysers, while Alexandria Sulcus is (appears to be) the least active one.

On average, each Tiger Stripe depression is approx. 130 Km long, about 2 Km wide, and roughly (but this is just an estimate) 500 meters deep. The Ridges flanking the Tiger Stripes are, on average, about 100 meters tall and 2 to 4 Km wide. Given their appearance and their geologic setting within a heavily tectonically deformed region, the Tiger Stripes shoul - likely - be Tectonic Fractures. However, their correlation with a strong Internal Heat and a large Water Vapor Plume emanating from them, suggests that they might be the result of a phenomenon of fissuring of the Enceladean Lithosphere (such as the outermost shell of a given Rocky Celestial Body). 

The Tiger Stripes are spaced approximately 35 Km apart from one other, and the ends of each Tiger Stripe differ in appearance between the anti-Saturnian and the sub-Saturnian Hemisphere. To be more precise, on the anti-Saturnian Hemisphere, the Stripes terminate in hook-shaped bends, while the sub-Saturnian tips bifurcate dendritically. Virtually no Impact Craters have been found so far on or near the Tiger Stripes, thus suggesting that we are looking at a Region having a very young Surface Age. Estimates based on crater counting, yielded towards a Surface Age going from 4 up to 100 Million Years (assuming a Lunar-like Cratering Flux) or a Surface Age going from 0,5 to 1 Million Years (assuming, instead, a relatively constant Cratering Flux).