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FP trend12 November 2020 09:46:31
Scientists found that Jupiter’s full ocean moon Europa also shines on the night side.
An experiment conducted at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California, which recreated the interactions of Europa and Jupiter, made these new discoveries exciting.
According to a JPL declaration, Europa withstands a relentless blast of radiation with Jupiter hitting Europa’s surface day and night with electrons and other particles, immersing it in high-energy radiation. The researchers found that because these radiation particles could make it glow in the dark.
This illustration of Jupiter’s moon Europa shows how the frozen surface can glow on its night side, the side facing the Sun. Variations in the glow and color of the glow itself could reveal information about the composition of the ice on Europa’s surface. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
According to the researchers, different saline compounds react differently to radiation and emit their own glimmer. The researchers used a spectrometer to separate the light into two wavelengths and link the distinct signatures to different ice compositions.
Most observations using a spectrometer on a moon-like Europa were taken using sunlight reflecting off the day side of the moon, however, the latest results illuminate what Europa would look like in the dark.
Speaking about their observations, Murthy Gudipati, lead author of the work, said he was able to predict that the glow of nighttime ice could provide more information on the composition of Europa’s surface. According to Gudipati, the way this composition varies could provide scientists with clues as to whether Europa has conditions suitable for life.
Since Europa is home to a huge internal ocean, by analyzing the surface, scientists can learn more about what lies beneath.
Scientists previously discovered that Europa’s surface could be a mixture of ice and common salts such as magnesium sulfate and sodium chloride.
The researchers incorporated these salts into water ice under conditions similar to those of Europe and detonated it with radiation to produce a glow. While it wasn’t a surprise, JPL’s Bryana Henderson, co-author of the research, added that when they tried new ice compositions, the glow looked different. They pointed a spectrometer at him and each type of ice had a different spectrum.
According to the researchers, Europa’s glow is caused by a completely different mechanism.
Gudipati said that if Europa weren’t under radiation, it would look like our moon, dark on the shadow side. However, as it is bombarded with radiation, it glows in the dark.
The results were published in the magazine Nature Astronomy.
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