Though we all have differences, there’s one commonality that has prevailed for all of humanity: we are all floating on a rock, flying through outer space at over a million miles an hour.
Thanks to the rapid advancement of technology in the past century, we can observe much more of the universe than we ever thought possible.
The scale and sheer size of the universe make it impossible to truly learn everything, but it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.
Here's what's happening in space this week.
The James Webb Space Telescope has spotted a cosmic marvel unlike anything astronomers have ever seen, and this time it's right here in our own solar system. The $10 billion telescope detected a 6,000-mile plume of water vapor emitting from Saturn's moon, Enceladus.
Enceladus is Saturn's sixth largest moon with a diameter of 313 miles, according to NASA. It's covered mostly by ice and has become a popular target for scientists searching for life elsewhere in the Universe.
Enceladus has a 'hidden ocean' of salt water between its outer crust and core. Volcanoes on the moon's surface spray plumes of ice and water vapor containing the building blocks of life (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen) into space out of cracks in the surface known as 'tiger stripes.'
The massive size of the newly detected jet of water left astronomers awestruck.
Lead author Geronimo Villanueva of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center could hardly believe his eyes upon receiving the new data.
“When I was looking at the data, at first, I was thinking I had to be wrong. It was just so shocking to detect a water plume more than 20 times the size of the moon,” he said.
“The water plume extends far beyond its release region at the southern pole.”
The size of the water plume isn't the only surprising feature of the new data. Researchers are also fascinated by the rate at which the water is ejecting from the planet: 79 gallons per second!
Previous observations from the Cassini orbiter gave astronomers groundbreaking data about Enceladus in the early 2000s. Cassini's findings revealed the moon's hidden ocean, confirmed that Enceladus is in fact an active moon with volcanoes, solved the mystery of why the moon is the brightest world in our solar system, and ultimately changed planetary science.
Webb's observations are even more impressive, however. Webb is equipped with highly sensitive scientific instruments, and the celestial objects are able to be observed in much higher detail from Webb's position at one million miles from Earth.
The new discovery from Webb also gave astronomers the chance to study how water emissions from the icy moon contribute to the system of rings around Saturn.
“The orbit of Enceladus around Saturn is relatively quick, just 33 hours. As it whips around Saturn, the moon and its jets are basically spitting off water, leaving a halo, almost like a donut, in its wake,” Villanueva said.
“In the Webb observations, not only was the plume huge, but there was just water absolutely everywhere.”
Astronomers plan to continue observing Enceladus using the James Webb Space Telescope in the future with the prospect of learning more about the icy ocean world and exploring its potential for supporting life.
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