New high-resolution photos of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa show that the surface is covered in what look like roads, not craters, and they stretch for miles.
Photo by NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI
New high-resolution photos of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa show that the surface is covered in what looks like highways, not craters, and they stretch for miles.
Europa is thought to be the most likely place in the solar system to find life beyond Earth, but it would be aquatic rather than terrestrial.
NASA’s Juno mission took the photos on Sept. 29 during a rare flyby about 256 miles from the surface, and scientists recognize one photo ” the severely disturbed icy crust of the moon” is surprising.
“The image covers approximately 93 miles (150 kilometers) by 125 miles (200 kilometers) of Europa’s surface, revealing an area crossed by a network of thin grooves and double ridges (pairs of long, parallel lines that show raised features in the ice).” NASA says.
“Near the upper right of the image, as well as to the right and lower center, there are dark spots, possibly related to something below that is rising to the surface.”
Commenters on social media immediately began offering theories, some calling the lines a highway mapothers suggest they are tracks left by something sliding on the ice, and several showing what they saw pentagrams in the photo.
As for the “dark spots” cited by NASA, some have spotted the spot more like one”a giant footprint.”
NASA scientists also have theories. They suspect that the lines are spots on Europa’s surface “tore apart” and something dark “from beneath the surface” filled the gap.
“Cracks and ridges on/in the ice shell are believed by many to indicate weak lines in the Moon’s icy crust,” said Scott Bolton, Juno’s principal investigator.
The cracks are “accentuated and exacerbated by tidal swells and falls due to Jupiter’s gravitational pull,” he said.
It is believed that Europe is surrounded by “a vast, salty, liquid ocean” crowned with a 15-mil thick a crust of ice. Temperatures range from minus 210 degrees Fahrenheit to minus 370 degrees at the poles, according to NASA.
However, deep-sea research on Earth has proven that life can be found even in the most extreme places on Earth. Scientists believe this may be true elsewhere in the solar system.
“This image reveals an incredible level of detail in a region that has never been imaged before at this resolution and under such spectacular lighting conditions,” said Heidi Becker, lead co-investigator of Juno’s Stellar Reference Unit.
“These features are very intriguing. Understanding how they formed – and how they relate to Europe’s history – tells us about the internal and external processes that shape the ice crust.”
Juno began “Totally focused on Jupiter” but extended the study to include the planets the four largest monthsof which Europe is the smallest.
“In the early 2030s, NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft will arrive and try to answer these questions about Europa’s habitability. Data from Juno’s flyby provide a preview of what this mission will reveal,” says NASA.