- Scientists used data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to analyse CO2 on eight Saturn moons
- Four distinct types of trapped CO2 identified based on wavelength shifts in JWST data
- Inner moons' CO2 linked to amorphous ice and dark material on trailing hemispheres
Researchers used data obtained from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to analyse carbon dioxide (CO2) detected on eight mid-sized satellites of Saturn, including Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Hyperion, Iapetus and Phoebe. Researchers have identified four distinct types of trapped CO2 on these satellites based on wavelength shifts in JWST's data.
Scientists believe that Saturn's moons provide an "ideal laboratory" for studying this trapped CO2, which would allow them to examine objects under similar conditions.
"The satellites of Saturn have at least two separate sources of CO2 and at least four separate trapping mechanisms," researchers wrote in the study.
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According to a recent study submitted to The Planetary Science Journal, CO2 on inner satellites like Dione and Rhea is associated with amorphous ice sourced from Saturn's E-ring and dark material on their trailing hemispheres.
On the other hand, CO2 on outer satellites like Phoebe is produced by irradiation of organics, which is then transported to the dark regions of Iapetus and Hyperion. The CO2 gas is also trapped within water ice on Iapetus and Hyperion.
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"These observations have interesting implications for the icy Galilean satellites and the state of their CO2 as well. Interpretations for the CO2 detected on the Galilean satellites are sometimes similar to the interpretations we have made here for the Saturnian satellites, though in some cases the similarity of the interpretation is in spite of large spectral differences," researchers in the study noted.
The study aims to help scientists understand the existence of CO2 on planetary bodies, the process of formation and evolution. It would also shed light on whether these objects could support life.
The findings also highlight the need for laboratory studies to better understand the sources and trapping mechanisms of CO2 in the outer solar system.
