SPACE

Over time, scientists determined that the cracked terrain stretching across Enceladus’ active south pole is in constant motion, stretching in some places and buckling in others as the cracks pinch and pull from gravitational forces. It is possible Enceladus is heated by a tidal mechanism similar to Jupiter's moon Io. Scientists discovered evidence of Enceladus’ internal ocean from gravity measurements based on the Doppler effect and the magnitude of the moon’s very slight wobble as it orbits Saturn. The data was consistent with the existence of a large global ocean inside the moon. The measurements suggested a large sea about 6 miles (10 kilometers) deep beneath the southern polar region, under an ice shell about 19 to 25 miles (30 to 40 kilometers) thick. Cassini flew by Enceladus for the last time in October 2015, but explorers will be poring over the data it sent home for years to come, planning for the day we return to delve deeper into its secrets. “As we...

This is a montage of New Horizons images of Jupiter and its volcanic moon Io, taken during the spacecraft’s Jupiter flyby . The image was released in Oct. 2007. (Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute) Jupiter's fifth moon, Io, is the most volcanically active body in the solar system. Plumes of sulfur spew upward as high as 190 miles (300 kilometers). The surface of Io is splotched with lava lakes and floodplains of liquid rock. Astronomers have mapped about 150 volcanoes on the moon, some of which blast lava 250 miles (400 km) out into space. There are volcanoes all over Io's surface, and as scientists perform observations they still occasionally see new hotspots pop up. For example, NASA's Juno spacecraft, which is currently orbiting Jupiter, found a possible new hotspot on Io on Dec. 16, 2017. Io by the numbers Age: Io is about 4.5 billion years old, about the same age as Jupiter. Distan...

Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system, and is larger than the planet Mercury. If it were not orbiting as Jupiter’s largest moon, it could be considered a dwarf planet. Ganymede is the only moon in the solar system known to have a substantial magnetosphere. That implies there is something inside helping to generate a strong magnetic field. Like Europa, Ganymede is thought to have a subsurface ocean, overlying a liquid iron and nickel core. That core is what helps generate the magnetic field. The surface of Ganymede is icy and covered with two main types of landscape: young, lighter regions and darker, older and cratered terrain. The dark areas appear to contain clays and organic materials. Ganymede was likely formed in place around the infant Jupiter in the early solar system. Several smaller worlds likely accreted together to make this moon. Ganymede has a thin atmosphere that a...

It has been very interesting to explore new planets and stars, If we talk about Europa, It is so smaller than Earth. It's actually a Moon of Jupiter. there is no evidence that life exists on Europa, but Europa has emerged as one of the most likely locations in the Solar System for potential habitability. Life could exist in its under-ice ocean, perhaps in an environment similar to Earth's deep-ocean hydrothermal vents. The Chemical Elements of life might be under the surface of Europa, because The surface of Europa was destroyed by Jupiter's Radiation, But that radiation might have helped life to live under the surface of Europa. Europa's most of the surface is made of Ice and we have a strong evidence that there is a deep ocean under the surface of Europa. The scientists have said that there are strong possibilities of life on Europa.