![]() There is the potential of water on Europa as the fly-by mission of 1989 showed a young surface, but there is no solidified evidence. Europa’s atmosphere contains abundant oxygen, which is one of it’s most intriguing characteristics when thinking about other life forms. From the diagram above, it is easy to see that Europa is the smallest of the four Galilean Moons, yet it is still a large moon in comparison to others within the solar system. Must be entertaining to see □Īfter Io we have Europa, what is potentially the best current option for a viable life form in addition to Earth. Most importantly, it is key to remember that Io is the most geologically active object in the Solar System. The volcanic activity is the reason for different colorings and the surface changes on Io, and it’s material also creates Io’s thin atmosphere. This volcanic activity is primarily due to tidal heating. Io is the fourth largest moon in the solar system, the innermost moon to Jupiter, and is known for its volcanic activity. Therefore I am using this blog as an opportunity to discuss the four largest moons of Jupiter: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Castillo. How this happened is still a mystery.With the constant discovery of more and more objects in space, it is difficult to keep track of the planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and exosolar planets that we already know and love. Yet Callisto seems to have frozen solid before the process of differentiation was complete. It would take only a little heating will soften the ice and get the process started, allowing the rock and metal to sink to the center while the slushy ice floats to the surface. In fact, it should be easier for an icy body to differentiate than for a rocky one because the melting temperature of ice is so low. The heat released from the collisions from its formation should have melted it, causing the dense, metallic materials to sink to the core. We would expect that all the big icy moons would be differentiated. Evidence for its lack of a dense core was found my measuring its gravitational pull on the Galileo spacecraft. Another strange feature of Callisto is that it appears to be an undifferentiated mixture of rock and icy material Callisto's low density (only twice that of water ice) can only be explained by a composition of roughly equal parts ice and rock, with no metallic core like Ganymede's. The fourth Galilean moon is Callisto, which looks similar to Ganymede but with heavy cratering and no evidence of resurfacing activity. Europa and its interiorġ2.1.4 Callisto Callisto and its interior Underneath the icy crust and possible water layer, Europa has a rocky mantle and an iron/iron sulfide core. Planetary scientists hope to one day land a probe on Europa and drill through the ice in order to see if there what really is under that crust. We have no evidence that Europa has life, but the potential is there. The friction from tidal action may also be a source of energy that could be utilized by living organisms, much like microbes use heat from dent undersea volcanic vents a source of energy. There may be more liquid water on Europa than in all of Earth’s oceans. Europa's interior also warmed by tidal heating and there is substantial evidence that there is a layer of liquid water beneath the surface. ![]() ![]() This creates water flows that keep surface relatively flat with many ridges across its surface. Io and its interiorġ2.1.2 Europa Image of Europa from the Galileo probe. ![]() Io’s interior include three main layers: a curst, a rocky mantle, and a core made of iron and iron sulfide. These tidal forces power the volcanoes on Io. During a single 41-hour orbit, the surface of Io can rise as much as 300 feet. The tides are so strong on Io that they left the crust itself. Gravity from Jupiter as well as from Europa subjects Io to tremendous tidal forces. It has no craters as they fill in too fast, giving Io the youngest surface of any solar system object. In fact, Io can change surface features in a few weeks. When the Voyager probes first returned photographs of Io, scientists were amazed that Io appeared to have an ever-changing surface. ![]() Io is also the most geologically active object in the Solar System, with many active volcanoes. Io is the innermost moon and is the densest of Jupiter’s moons. \)ġ2.1.1 Io Image of Io from the Galileo probe. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |