Webb telescope detects a huge plume emanating from Saturn’s moon Enceladus

The Webb telescope was launched in December 2021 and has since been using it to study celestial bodies in our solar system, as well as the oldest light in the universe. Studying other planets like Uranus and their moons is a useful way to understand the dynamics between celestial bodies and how they might have formed.

Sprays 79 gallons of water vapor per second

Enceladus is a small, icy moon orbiting Saturn and is just over 483 kilometers wide. “I thought I must have been wrong at first when I was looking at the data,” said Geronimo Villanueva, planetary scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center at the Space Telescope Science Institute. said.

The team found that the Enceladus geyser spews 79 gallons of water vapor per second, feeding the halo of water vapor around the moon. Because while Enceladus is spewing steam, it also feeds the water source surrounding Saturn. Planetary scientist Stefanie Milam said in the same statement, “Currently, Webb provides a unique way to directly measure how water evolves and changes over time along Enceladus’ enormous plumes. As we see here, it will make new discoveries and learn more about the composition of the underlying ocean. We will learn something,” he said.

Because water is crucial to the continuation of life as we know it, researchers hope they can track water in the solar system to find life, or at least for signs of where it might exist beyond our planet.