The surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa exposes material churned up from inside the moon and also material resulting from matter and energy coming from above. If you want to learn about the deep saltwater ocean beneath this unusual world’s icy shell — as many people do who are interested in possible extraterrestrial life — [continue reading]
March 19, 2013 Jupiter’s icy moon Europa Image Credit: NASA/JPL/DLR Jupiter’s moon Europa is, with just over 3,100 kilometers (1,900 mi) in diameter, slightly smaller than Earth’s Moon. It is the sixth-largest moon of Jupiter, and the smallest of its four Galilean satellites but nonetheless more massive than all known moons in the Solar System [continue reading]
Europa, the enigmatic moon of Jupiter, is believed to be home to a subsurface ocean of liquid water. However, future missions to explore Europa’s ocean may need to dig deep. Research suggests that water does not stay in a liquid state near Europa’s surface for longer than a few tens of thousands of years [continue reading]
Nothing like it has been seen before beyond our own planet: large tides have been found on Saturn’s moon Titan that point to a liquid ocean – most likely water – swirling around below the surface. A possible scenario for the internal structure of Titan, which includes a global subsurface ocean beneath an icy [continue reading]
Recent findings from NASA’s Cassini mission reveal that Saturn’s geyser moon Enceladus provides a special laboratory for watching unusual behavior of plasma, or hot ionized gas. In these recent findings, some Cassini scientists think they have observed “dusty plasma,” a condition theorized but not previously observed on site, near Enceladus. This image is a [continue reading]