Researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a water vapor cloud over 6,000 miles from Saturn’s moon Enceladus—almost the distance between Los Angeles, California, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. This is not only the first time a jet of water has been observed from such a distance, it also gives Webb scientists the first direct look at how the jet fed the water supply for the entire Saturn system and its rings.

An ocean world about four percent the size of Earth, only 313 miles wide, Enceladus is one of the most exciting science targets in our solar system in the search for life beyond Earth. A spherical saltwater reservoir is sandwiched between the Moon’s icy outer crust and its rocky core. Geyser-like volcanoes spew ice particles, water vapor, and organic chemicals from cracks in the moon’s surface, informally known as “tiger stripes.”

Previously, observatories had mapped jets hundreds of kilometers from the moon’s surface, but Webb’s remarkable precision breaks new ground.

In this image, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows a cloud of water vapor rising from the south pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus and extending 20 times the length of the moon. The accompanying Cassini image highlights how small Enceladus appears in the Webb image compared to the water cloud. Source: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI and G. Villanueva (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center). Image processing: A. Pagan (STScI).

“When I looked at the data, at first I thought I was wrong. “Finding a water cloud larger than 20 times the Moon was shocking,” said lead author Jeronimo Villanueva of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “A cloud of water extends far beyond the launch site at the South Pole.”

The length of the feather wasn’t the only feature of interest to the researchers. The escape rate of water vapor, which is about 79 gallons per second, is also particularly impressive. At this rate, you can fill an Olympic-sized pool in a few hours. For comparison, it would take more than 2 weeks on Earth with a garden hose.

The Cassini orbiter has been investigating the Saturn system for over a decade and has not only taken the first image of Enceladus’ plumes, but also passed through them and sampled what they are made of. Cassini’s position in the Saturn system provides invaluable information about this distant moon, while Webb’s unique view from the Sun-Earth 2 Lagrange point a million miles from Earth and the extreme sensitivity of the Integral Field Unit on the NIRSpec (Near Infrared Spectrograph) . ) tool provides a new context.

“Enceladus’ orbit around Saturn is relatively fast, only 33 hours. As Villanueva orbits Saturn, the Moon and its jets often spray water, leaving behind an almost ring-like halo.” said. “According to Webb’s observations, not only was the smoke huge, but there was water everywhere.”

Described as a donut, this ‘ubiquitous’ turbid water ring sits next to Saturn’s outer and widest ring, the dense ‘E-ring’. Webb’s observations show directly how the Moon’s water vapor currents feed the thorium. Examining Webb’s data, astronomers determined that about 30 percent of the water remained in this bagel, while the other 70 percent escaped to feed the rest of Saturn’s water system.

For years to come, Webb will serve as the primary instrument for observing the oceanic moon Enceladus, and Webb’s findings will help inform future solar system satellite missions that will probe the depth of the subsurface ocean, the thickness of the ice crust, and more.

In this image, instruments on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope reveal details of how one of Saturn’s moons feeds water into the planet’s entire ring system. New Webb NIRSpec (Near Infrared Spectrograph) images have revealed a cloud of water vapor emanating from Enceladus’ south pole that is more than 20 times larger than the moon itself. The Integral Field Unit (IFU) at NIRSpec also provided information on how water from Enceladus feeds the rest of the environmentCredit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Leah Hustak (STScI)

“Webb now offers a unique way to directly measure the evolution and change of water in the vast clouds of Enceladus, and as we see here, we will even make new discoveries and learn more about the composition of the deep ocean,” he added. co-author Stephanie Milam, NASA Goddard. “With Webb’s wavelength coverage and sensitivity and what we’ve learned from previous missions, we have a whole new window of opportunity.”

Webb’s observations of Enceladus were completed under the Guaranteed Time of Observation (GTO) 1250 program. The initial purpose of this program was to demonstrate Webb’s capabilities in a particular field of science and lay the groundwork for future research.

“This program was essentially a proof-of-concept after years of developing the observatory, and it’s very exciting that all this science has come out of a fairly short observation period,” said Heidi Hammel of the Association of Astronomy Research Universities. Webb Interdisciplinary Scientist and GTO Program Manager.

The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s leading space science observatory. Webb will unravel the mysteries of our solar system, peek into distant worlds around other stars, and discover the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program run by NASA with its partners ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).