James Webb telescope captured a huge jet of water from Saturn’s moon Enceladus
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has provided us with many incredible images despite its short lifespan. The space telescope has provided stunning images of the early universe since its launch in December 2021, and now it has added a new feather to its cap. The Webb telescope captured water vapor leaking from Enceladus, one of Saturn’s 124 moons. According to NASA, not only is this the first time such a large seal has been observed from such a great distance, but it also gives scientists a first-hand look at how this contributes to the supply of water to Saturn and its rings.
Enceladus is one of the most interesting objects of scientific study in our solar system because it contains a large reservoir of salty water between its rocky core and icy crust. The plume of water vapor observed by the Webb telescope extended over 6,000 miles. In contrast, Enceladus is only 313 miles across, meaning the nebula was 20 times the size of the moon.
“When I looked at the data, at first I thought I was wrong,” Geronimo Villanueva of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said in a statement. Moon. The water column extends far beyond the Antarctic Exclusion Zone.”
While scientists had previously studied plumes hundreds of kilometers from the Moon’s surface that were captured and traversed by the Cassini orbiter, the James Webb Space Telescope and sensitive onboard technology such as the NIRSpec instrument are helping NASA gain new context.
“In the web notes, not only was the flood huge, but there was just water everywhere,” Villanueva said.
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists will observe Enceladus and its unique structure after future solar system satellite missions study Saturn’s icy moon.
