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Enceladus Torus and Plume

Researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space telescope recently discovered a plume jetting out from the moon’s south pole more than 20 times the size of the moon itself. This animation illustrates how the moon’s water plumes feed the planet’s torus. By analyzing the Webb data, astronomers have determined roughly 30 percent of the water stays within this torus, and the other 70 percent escapes to supply the rest of the Saturnian system with water.

  • Release Date
    May 30, 2023
  • Science Release
    Webb Maps Surprisingly Large Plume Jetting From Saturn’s Moon Enceladus
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Video: Leah Hustak (STScI); Science: NASA, ESA, CSA, Gerónimo Villanueva; Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

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Related Images & Videos

Two-part graphic shows a clearer image of a bright white circular moon at top left in a box. It is labeled Enceladus (Cassini). The majority of the graphic shows Webb’s image, which appears pixelated. At the bottom is the label, plume (Webb). The box at top left with the Cassini image has a line drawn to a red box surrounding a single, whiter pixel in the Webb image. The entire moon is represented by that outlined pixel. The Webb image is square, but appears rotated at an angle. Below the pixel representing Enceladus is a roughly triangular-shaped area of brighter blue pixels, which is narrower near the moon and gets wider as it extends to the bottom of the Webb image. This shows a water vapor plume extending from the moon’s southern pole.

Enceladus Plume (Webb [NIRSpec] and Cassini Image)

An image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) shows a water vapor plume jetting from the southern pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, extending out more than 20 times the size of the moon itself. The inset, an image from the Cassini orbiter,...

Infographic titled “Saturn’s Moon Enceladus; Water Emission Spectrum.” The infographic shows a diagram of Saturn, Enceladus, and its torus at the top, the NIRSpec image of Enceladus at the bottom left, and the spectra of the NIRSpec field of view at the bottom right. In the top diagram, Saturn is at the center, and the torus circles the planet like a donut. The square box around Enceladus within the torus in the top graphic has lines drawn to it from a box at the bottom left. In this box is the Webb NIRSpec image of Enceladus, with the torus, moon, plume and central areas labeled. These labels correspond to the 3 different horizontal lines on the plot. There are blue vertical columns scattered across the plot indicating where spikes in the line emissions represent the presence of water.

Enceladus Water Emission Spectrum (NIRSpec IFU)

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s exquisite sensitivity and highly specialized instruments are revealing details into how one of Saturn’s moon’s feeds a water supply to the entire system of the ringed planet. Enceladus, a prime candidate in the search for life elsewhere in our...

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Details

Last Updated
Aug 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

Video Credit

Leah Hustak (STScI)

Science Credit

NASA, ESA, CSA, Gerónimo Villanueva

Image Processing Credit

Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

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