Saturn's Ocean Moon Enceladus: Large Water Vapor Plume Found | Webb Telescope

Saturn's Ocean Moon Enceladus: Large Water Vapor Plume Found | Webb Telescope

Researchers using the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space telescope recently discovered a plume jetting out from the south pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus and extending more than 40 times the size of the moon itself. This animation illustrates how the moon’s water plumes feed the moon’s torus. By analyzing the Webb data, astronomers have determined roughly 30 percent of the water stays within this torus, and the other 70 percent escapes to supply the rest of the Saturnian system of water.

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, G. Villanueva (NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center), A. Pagan (STScI), L. Hustak (STScI)

Duration: 21 seconds

Release Date: May 25, 2023

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