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APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Europa: Oceans of Life?
Explanation: Is there life beneath Europa's frozen surface? Some believe the oceans found there of carbon-enriched water are the best chance for life , outside the Earth , in our Solar System . Europa , the fourth largest moon of Jupiter , was recently discovered to have a thin oxygen atmosphere by scientists using the Hubble Space Telescope . Although Earth's atmospheric abundance of oxygen is indicative of life , astronomers speculate that Europa's oxygen arises purely from physical processes. But what an interesting coincidence! The above picture was taken by a Voyager spacecraft in 1979, but the spacecraft Galileo is currently circling Jupiter and has been photographing Europa . The first of these pictures will be released two days from today. Will they show the unexpected?
Late News: NASA to Release New Europa and Jupiter Pictures Thursday
More Late News: New Evidence Suggests Microscopic Life Existed on Mars
| Date | August 6, 1996 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit: Voyager Project, JPL, and NASA |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |