Europa

Water detected on one of Jupiter’s moons, Europa Life

Water detected on one of Jupiter’s moons, Europa

The hottest candidates for the development of extraterrestrial life are one of Saturn’s moons, Enceladus, and one of Jupiter’s moons, Europa – even though it’s very cold on its surface. Life, in fact, might be hiding in an underground ocean under the 50-100 kilometer thick layer of ice. Its existence is indicated, among other things, by the countless fault lines criss-crossing across its surface. Proof of this underground sea, however, has not yet been found. But now, with the help of the Keck Telescope on Mauna Kea (Hawaii), astronomers have found more evidence, as they have written in an…
Ice geysers also on Jupiter’s moon Europa Enceladus

Ice geysers also on Jupiter’s moon Europa

One of the special features of Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, magnificently photographed and analyzed by the Cassini probe, are its geysers: close to its south pole, large fountains made from ice crystals burst from the ocean under the crust and leap into space. Like Enceladus, we know that Jupiter’s moon Europa is also an icy moon. Whether there are also geysers on Europa, however, is anything but clear. If there are geysers on Europa, this would be an advantage because then we could find out very simply what is in the ocean believed to be under Europa’s crust. Since Europa…