This is the moon of Jupiter that shines differently in the dark world



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A total of 53 named moons have Jupiter, the largest planet in the Solar System, with a mass 318 times that of the Earth and three times greater than that of Saturn.

One of them was christened Europe, which has become one of the places where scientists try to look for signs of life, because through Ground-based telescopes have been able to determine that this moon’s surface is mostly ice water. Further, The researchers found strong evidence that beneath the ice crust is an ocean of liquid water or muddy ice.

Mar Gómez, meteorologist, doctor in physical sciences and head of the meteorology area of ​​the web portal eltiempo.es in Spain, announced via her Twitter account (@MarGomezH) an interesting thread, which has become a trend, with these and other interesting facts about this moon.

He noticed, for example, that It was found that this satellite emits light differently in total darkness. Similarly, he indicated that in 1979, the Voyager probe crossed the Jovian system, giving the first indications that Europa could contain liquid water.

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“So terrestrial telescopes on Earth, together with the Galileo probe and space telescopes, have increased confidence in an ocean in Europe”, The expert indicated that she is recognized for the use of social networks as a means of scientific dissemination and social awareness on climate change.

The Doctor of Physical Sciences of the Complutense University of Madrid further argued that S.and he believes that the Europa ice sheet is about 15-25 kilometers thick, floating on a salty ocean 60 to 150 kilometers deep. “Europe’s vast and unfathomable deep ocean is seen as the most promising place to look for life beyond Earth,” he said.

Gomez said so while the researchers from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology simulated the conditions of the surface of Europe, They found out that the salty ice on its surface glows in the absence of sunlight and does so in different ways.

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“Jupiter hits Europa’s surface day and night with electrons and other particles, bathing it in high-energy radiation, so the glow was something that could be sensed. The most surprising thing is that when they tried new ice compositions, the glow looked different. Different salty compounds react differently to radiation and give off their unique glow. At first glance, this glow sometimes appeared slightly green, sometimes slightly blue or white and with varying degrees of brightness, “he noted.

The expert explained it scientists use a spectrometer to separate light into wavelengths and link the different “signatures”, or spectra, to different ice compositions. “Most observations using a spectrometer on a moon like Europa are taken using sunlight reflected from the day side of the moon. but these new results illuminate what Europe would be like in the dark, “he stressed.

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He added that a moon that is visible in a dark sky may not look unusual. “We see our Moon because it reflects sunlight. Europa’s glow is caused by a different mechanism: the moon shines continuously, even on the night side, opposite to the Sun “, a situation that makes it different.

“This could help understand the composition of its frozen plains and ocean under that bridge. NASA’s flagship mission: Europa Clipper, scheduled to launch in the mid-1920s, will observe the surface of the moon in several close passages as it orbits around Jupiter “commented.

Gómez also pointed out that said mission it will also try to help to know if there might be conditions for life. “Understanding the habitability of the moon Europa will help scientists better understand how life on Earth developed and the potential to find life beyond our planet.“, he specified.

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