Enceladus, Saturn’s sixth-largest moon — and the most reflective object of the solar system — was putting on a show, sprinkling massive amounts of water into space. With the help of the James Webb Space Telescope, Mashable Researchers collaborating with NASA, Europeans, and Canadians are reportedly thrilled by the moon’s geyser-like plumes, which shoot more than 6,000 miles above the planet’s surface. In addition, the small icy moon whose sprinkling creates a “hazy halo” that generously contributes to Saturn’s rings offers new insight into how it supplies water to the entire Saturnian system, reports Mashable.
Then there is the fantastic nightlife on the moon. like NASA Geysers there like Old Faithful, he notes in his news release about Enceladus, spew no fewer than 101 icy jets from beneath the surface into the universe, their force oscillating in rhythm with the moon’s 1.37-Earth-day elliptical orbit around Saturn. Scientists especially want to understand this mystery, because gas output remains the same when the moon is farther from Saturn, even though the geysers are at their strongest. This points to damage in extraterrestrial plumbing, making Enceladus’ subterranean ocean and geological activity even more fascinating.
Enceladus may be a moon, but it is no small player in the drama of the universe. Its bright, cratered surface – newly renewed in some areas – reveals a geologically active world beneath its ice. Space.com. And this world is characterized by conditions parallel to those that gave rise to life on Earth. Enceladus has generated excitement in the past about its ability to harbor life, from potential hydrothermal vents to suspected mixtures of water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and other gases. (Read more Saturn stories.)