SCIENCE

JWST maps huge water plume on Enceladus

By Sanjana Shankar

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Webb telescope

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has mapped a massive plume of water vapor on Saturn's moon Enceladus.

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Water plume

The water plume, jetting out from the moon's south pole, was found to be more than 20 times the size of Enceladus itself, spanning over 9,656km.

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Enceladus

Researchers found that the water plume was jetting out from Enceladus at a particularly fast rate, about 299 liters per second.

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Significance

The water vapor plume seen on Enceladus may contain life-supporting elements and is said to be bigger than any previous water vapor emissions seen on the moon.

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Extraterrestrial life

Enceladus is believed to have a salty ocean between its icy crust, making it an exciting target for the search for extraterrestrial life.

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