The James Webb Space Telescope has turned its near-infrared camera towards Saturn's tiny moon Enceladus, and the results are absolutely breathtaking. It has captured a towering plume of water vapour erupting from the moon's south pole that stretches for over 6,000 kilometres!
Cassini showed us these geysers up close years ago, but seeing the sheer, colossal scale of the water torus it creates around the entire Saturnian system from Webb's vantage point is astonishing. This little ice moon is essentially feeding a massive ring of water vapour that spans the entire orbit. It remains one of the most tantalising targets for the search for extraterrestrial life.
"NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s exquisite sensitivity and highly specialized instruments are revealing details into how one of Saturn’s moon’s feeds a water supply to the entire system of the ringed planet."
Illustration credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Leah Hustak (STScI)
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