Webb telescope finds towering plume of water escaping from one of Saturn's moons
Tuesday, May 30, 2023 - 11:25
in Astronomy & Space
Two Southwest Research Institute scientists were part of a James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) team that observed a towering plume of water vapor more than 6,000 miles long—roughly the distance from the U.S. to Japan—spewing from the surface of Saturn's moon, Enceladus. In light of this NASA JWST Cycle 1 discovery, SwRI's Dr. Christopher Glein also received a Cycle 2 allocation to study the plume as well as key chemical compounds on the surface, to better understand the potential habitability of this ocean world.