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.
Oceans Under Jupiter's Europa?
Explanation: Explanation : Is there life beneath Europa? Today, new results are being announced (at about 2 pm EST) about the possibility of oceans under Jupiter 's moon Europa . The existence of such oceans increases the likelihood that some sort of life exists beneath the fractured ice planes of Jupiter's smoothest satellite . Results from the February 20th flyby of the robot spacecraft Galileo past Europa now clearly indicate that either large bodies of water or slush exist under a relatively thin ice sheet covering the moon's surface , at least in some regions. Areas on the surface are marked by very few craters, indicating that water flowed there in the time since most craters formed.
| Date | April 9, 1997 |
|---|---|
| Credit |
Oceans Under Jupiter's Europa? Credit: Galileo Project, JPL, NASA |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |