Tag Archives: Saturns

The European Space Agency (ESA) is setting the long-term goal of sending a spacecraft to Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus to answer key science questions and drive the development of new technologies. Enceladus is one of the most intriguing moons in the solar system due to the discovery by NASA’s Cassini probe of plumes of water ice erupting from the moon’s …

For a planet already famous for its beauty and mysteries, Saturn just became even more enigmatic. Fresh observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) — the most detailed yet of the planet’s upper atmosphere — reveal “dark beads” scattered through Saturn’s glowing auroras and a star-shaped pattern with two arms mysteriously missing. Nothing like these features has ever been …

The JWST has found “dark beads” and unexpected structures inside the atmosphere of Saturn – strange features never seen before in the Solar System. On November 24, 2024, the JWST turned to observe Saturn for 10 hours, seeing the gas giant in unprecedented detail in the near-infrared spectrum. An international team looking at the data from the telescope was particularly …

Northumbria University scientists using the sensitive instruments on board the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have detected several mysterious structures orbiting at different altitudes above Saturn that they cannot explain. A statement announcing the unexpected discoveries said the unexplained features, which included “a series of dark, bead-like features embedded in bright auroral halos” in the ionosphere and an “asymmetric star-shaped …

The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered strange “dark beads “above a four-armed star pattern in Saturn’s atmosphere. The surprising structures are unlike anything scientists have seen before, and they’re not sure what they are. The unusual features were discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope‘s (JWST’s) Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) as it peered into the gas giant’s atmosphere above …

An artist’s impression of plumes erupting onto the surface of Enceladus. Its fellow moon Titan is seen in the sky, and the distant Sun beyond. Credit: ESA/Science Office Saturn’s moon Enceladus has long dazzled scientists with its icy plumes that spew water and mysterious organic molecules into space, fueling hopes of a habitable ocean beneath. But new experiments suggest the …

Enceladus, one of Saturn’s small icy moons, spans just 300 miles (500 kilometers) — yet despite its modest size, it has become a star in the search for life beyond Earth. From cracks near its south pole, the moon blasts towering geysers of water vapor, ice and organic molecules into space, which are tantalizing hints of a hidden ocean that …

Heads up stargazers! The shadow of Saturn’s largest moon Titan will skim across the gas giant’s swirling cloud tops in the early morning hours of Sept. 4. Here’s everything you need to know about how to catch the rare transit event. Once every 15 years, the orbital mechanics of the solar system bring Saturn‘s iconic rings — and the orbit …

NASA Unveils Possible Building Blocks of Life on Saturn’s Moon Titan  SciTechDaily Source link

When NASA’s upcoming Dragonfly probe skims the lakes of Saturn‘s moon Titan, it may encounter a froth akin to Earth’s first signs of life, a new study suggests. Titan is strikingly similar to Earth in some respects. Like the planet we call home, its surface is covered with large lakes and seas of liquid. And, much like the water cycle …