Enceladus
On Enceladus under a crust of ice lies a global ocean of salty water. Jets, supplied by that ocean, gush from the surface of the moon and feed into the entire system of Saturn.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope first look at this ocean world is revealing that a plume spouts water out more than 20 times the size of the moon itself. Enceladus, together with its sub-surface ocean, is one of the most exciting scientific targets in our solar system in the search for life beyond Earth.
Sandwiched between the moon’s icy outer crust and its rocky core is a global reservoir of salty water. Geyser-like volcanos spew jets of ice particles, water vapor, and organic chemicals out of crevices in the moon’s surface informally called ‘tiger stripes.’
In this video, we show a possible scenario of how water could be being sourced from hydrothermal vents in the sub-surface ocean to generate the observed plumes.
Ocean vent flythrough
A pan through ice layers
Enceladus geyser fly through
Enceladus to JWST pan
Full movie
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab
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Animator
- Jenny McElligott (Advocates in Manpower Management, Inc.)
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Technical support
- Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
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Scientist
- Geronimo Villanueva (Catholic University of America)
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Art director
- Michael Lentz (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
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Project manager
- Walt Feimer (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
Release date
This page was originally published on Wednesday, May 24, 2023.
This page was last updated on Thursday, October 5, 2023 at 10:43 AM EDT.