Enceladus, the sixth largest moon Saturn, Huge jets of steam emanate from its interior, similar to any geyser on Earth. NASA’s James Webb Telescope captured one, defined as “immense”.
Although the eruption was observed in November 2022, was officially launched in May, at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.
It’s not the first time Saturn’s icy moon has sprayed these jets, but the fact of the intensity of the studied geyser stands out.
“It’s huge,” said Sara Faggi, a planetary astronomer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, quoted by Nature. However, did not give further details and a scientific article about it is expected to be published soon.
The material that came out of the jet of Enceladus, the moon of Saturn
What emanated from the Enceladus geyser? Scientists indicate that it contains a component for the development of life, such as methane, carbon dioxide, ammonia… and possibly water. This could be discovered thanks to the advance represented by the James Webb Telescope.
As it explains the Space portal, Enceladus is completely embedded in an ice shell, but measurements of the moon’s rotation suggest that an ocean lies hidden beneath the crust.
“Scientists believe that the jets of water detected by the Webb Telescope and the Cassini spacecraft come from hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor, a hypothesis supported by the presence of silica, a common ingredient in planetary crusts, in the vapor columns”, indicates Space.
A group of researchers proposed sending a snake robot to this moon of Saturn, with the name of Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor (EELS). This mobile device has cameras and lidar, to thoroughly analyze Enceladus.
About EELS we talk previously on FayerWayer. You can learn more about this snake robot in the following link.