Spectacular discovery of a 9,600 km long jet of water vapor ejecting Saturn’s icy moon.

Astronomers have captured a huge plume of water vapor rushing into space from Enceladus, Saturn’s icy moon.

This 504 km wide satellite is known for its geysersthat is, its streams of boiling water, which are thrown out with force in the form of pillars.

But the latest discovery is especially important because of its magnitude: The water column reaches a length 9600 kmwhich is equivalent to the distance between the United Kingdom and Japan.

Scientists are delighted with the find. The underground ocean of Enceladus, the one that produces columns of steam, may meet the basic conditions for Availability life.

NASA’s Cassini mission (2004–2017) collected possible chemical evidence for life on geysers, although did not directly detect living beings.

A new mass of water vapor has been registered James Webb Space Telescope. Previous observations have found steam ejections extending hundreds of kilometers, but this geyser has a higher dimensionality.

Getty Images
The illustration shows plumes of steam rising from the surface of Enceladus.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has calculated that Water is ejected at a rate of about 300 liters per second. That would be enough to fill an Olympic pool in a few hours, according to the ESA.

The Webb telescope recorded the properties of the water column thanks to near infrared spectrograph (NIRSpets).

This instrument shows how much of the ejected steam (about 30%) feeds the tire-shaped surface of water, called a torus, located near Saturn’s E ring.

“Surface temperature of Enceladus 200ºC below zeroThis is reported by the BBC Catherine Heymans, professor of astrophysics, Astronomer Royal of Scotland. “But we think the moon’s core is hot enough to heat the water that creates this mass of steam.”

Launch of the James Webb Space Telescope

Getty Images
The James Webb Space Telescope during launch in December 2021.

“We are convinced that in the depths of our own ocean, on planet Earth, life can exist under such conditions. That’s why we’re excited to see these huge masses of steam on Enceladus. They help us understand a little more what’s going on there. What probabilityYesyou must there is life”, says Heymans, although he clarifies that they do not mean people, but bacteria like those that exist in sea ​​depths.

Scientists have proposed a NASA mission called Enceladus Orbilander who will seek to solve the open question of life. A mission What will spin this Moon to taste the geysers, like the Cassini probe, but now with more advanced technology. In addition to accepting surface material samples.


If you manage to complete the mission, Orbilander will not fly for several decades, because there are other priorities. NASA and ESA have already sent space probes to Jupiter’s moons covered with ice.

These bodies too have deep oceans. In fact, they may be the best candidates for finding extraterrestrial life because they are much larger.

enceladus

Getty Images
Enceladus is the sixth largest moon of Saturn.

unknown, for example How long does Enceladus keep liquid water?. This is the key to the existence of life. The moon may have been frozen for most of the solar system’s history, which could have reduced the chances of life.

In contrast, the largest moons of Jupiter, such as Europa (3121 km in diameter) and Ganymede (5268 km), probably had thermal energy required to keep water in a liquid state much longer.

The journal Nature Astronomy will publish detailed account of observations of Enceladus Made by Webb.


remember, that you can receive notifications from BBC Mundo. Download the new version of our app and activate them so you don’t miss out on our best content.

Author: BBC news world
Source: La Opinion

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest

A protester steps on a blacked-out photograph of Myanmar’s military commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing during a protest in Berlin. / EFE

The war in Ukraine covers up actions that are difficult to admit, and not only by its main actors. One of them, cornered...

Lewis Hamilton caught with Shakira in a restaurant after the Miami Grand Prix

Even though he Miami Grand Prix He took it Max Verstappen epic comeback from eight positions, Lewis Hamilton He was the most talked about...