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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

🌌 NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

Oceans Under Jupiter's Europa? Credit:

Date: 1997-04-09

Oceans Under Jupiter's Europa? 
Credit:

View HD Image

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.