by APOD Robot » Tue Sep 27, 2016 4:07 am
Jupiter's Europa from Spacecraft Galileo
Explanation: What mysteries might be solved by peering into this crystal ball? In this case, the ball is actually a moon of
Jupiter, the crystals are ice, and the moon is not only dirty but cracked
beyond repair. Nevertheless, speculation is rampant that oceans exist under
Europa's fractured ice-plains that
could support life. This speculation was bolstered again this week by
released images from the
Hubble Space Telescope indicating that plumes of
water vapor sometimes emanate from the ice-crusted moon -- plumes that might bring
microscopic sea life to the surface. Europa, roughly the
size of
Earth's Moon, is
pictured here in natural color as photographed in 1996 by the now-defunct Jupiter-orbiting
Galileo spacecraft. Future observations by
Hubble and planned missions such as the
James Webb Space Telescope later this decade and a
Europa flyby mission in the 2020s may further humanity's understanding not only of Europa and the
early Solar System but also of the possibility that
life exists elsewhere in the universe.
[/b]
[url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160927.html][img]http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_160927.jpg[/img] [size=150]Jupiter's Europa from Spacecraft Galileo[/size][/url]
[b] Explanation: [/b] What mysteries might be solved by peering into this crystal ball? In this case, the ball is actually a moon of [url=http://www.nasa.gov/Jupiter]Jupiter[/url], the crystals are ice, and the moon is not only dirty but cracked [url=http://i.imgur.com/XWMxDa9.jpg]beyond repair[/url]. Nevertheless, speculation is rampant that oceans exist under [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_(moon)]Europa[/url]'s fractured ice-plains that [url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/details.php?id=1383]could support life[/url]. This speculation was bolstered again this week by [url=http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2016/33]released images[/url] from the [url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/story/index.html]Hubble Space Telescope[/url] indicating that plumes of [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QJS9LcB66g]water vapor sometimes emanate[/url] from the ice-crusted moon -- plumes that might bring [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090830.html]microscopic sea life[/url] to the surface. Europa, roughly the [url=http://georgenet.net/hubble/images/moons.jpg]size[/url] of [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130716.html]Earth's Moon[/url], is [url=http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00502]pictured here[/url] in natural color as photographed in 1996 by the now-defunct Jupiter-orbiting [url=http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/galileo/index.cfm]Galileo spacecraft[/url]. Future observations by [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010806.html]Hubble[/url] and planned missions such as the [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160509.html]James Webb Space Telescope[/url] later this decade and a [url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/europa-mission/]Europa flyby mission[/url] in the 2020s may further humanity's understanding not only of Europa and the [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formation_and_evolution_of_the_Solar_System]early Solar System[/url] but also of the possibility that [url=http://www.nasa.gov/content/finding-life-beyond-earth-is-within-reach]life exists elsewhere[/url] in the universe.
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