An image from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope's NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) shows a water vapor plume jetting from the southern pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus, extending out more than 20 times the size of the moon itself. Enceladus on its own has been flagged by researchers as a compelling place to conduct further research, since the mass is largely composed of salt water and those properties make it an appealing target to probe for extraterrestrial life. When they announced that discovery, NASA scientists said the plume, extending about 6,000 miles out from the moon's south pole and toward Saturn's rings, was especially interesting because of the role it may play in feeding the broader Saturnian water system. Earlier this year, the Webb telescope detected an enormous plume of water vapor erupting from the surface of Enceladus, a Saturn moon sometimes referred to as an "ocean world" because of its makeup and distinctively icy outer shell.
The latest, unprecedented view of Saturn comes as researchers continue to probe the massive planet in hopes of learning more about the Saturnian system at large. While methane absorbs almost all of the sunlight falling on the atmosphere at such a distant location from the sun, the planet's icy rings still appear bright in the image. The stark contrast between the planet and its shimmering rings lends itself to an overall look that NASA described as "unusual." The space agency explains in a news release that the infrared wavelength observed by Webb to produce this particular image was being absorbed by methane gas on Saturn. Image of Saturn and some of its moons, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope's NIRCam instrument on June 25, 2023. Several of the planet's rings, as well as some moons in its orbit, are clearly visible in the rendering, while Saturn itself appears dark and shaded. NASA unveiled a color-corrected image on Friday, several days after Webb's near-infrared camera turned to face Saturn along its journey through the outer solar system.
The James Webb Space Telescope has produced a stunning new image of Saturn and its rings, which appear to glow in the space telescope's first near-infrared observations of the planet. New image from James Webb Telescope shows star about to become supernova 06:00
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