This year, as in any other, the idea that human beings are not alone in the universe has gained ever more strength. The discovery of the planet Next B, with conditions very similar to those that have the planet Earth, is added a new discovery: jets of water vapor coming out of the ice surface of Europa, moon of Jupiter.
This discovery, which was presented today by the NASA in Washington, I would suggest that this satellite, of a size similar to that of the Moon, is one of the leading candidates within the Solar System that might harbor life.
previous Observations suggested that under the ice of Europa had an ocean of salt water two times larger than all of Earth together. This course ocean of Europe is under a thick layer of ice several kilometers, something that is supposed to be an additional challenge to the study of its composition and, of course, find possible ways of life in him.
But 10 images captured by the Hubble space telescope, taken on 2014, we have given a new impetus to this research. The images reveal that would be possible, geysers, known in Colombia as holes blowers. In three of them, took place between January and April of 2014, you leave see traces of possible jets similar to geysers coming out near the south pole of the satellite. The columns of water vapor would be about 200 miles long.
“The ocean of Europa is considered one of the most promising that could harbor life in the Solar System,” said Geoff Yoder, associate administrator of the Directory of Scientific Missions of NASA in Washington, united States. If these geysers are real, "this would look for life in Europa’s surface without having to drill the ice", he added.
According to the astronomers of the Hubble telescope to reconstruct the information was not easy. There was that optimizing the process of optimizing your images, make new models and to analyze with care the movements of Europe and Jupiter. “It is not simply to take a photo, is much more complex,” said William Sparks, an astronomer at the Hubble telescope.
however, he stressed the NASA, despite the excitement generated by this discovery, the results are not entirely conclusive, but they are “strong indications”, which are added to those already existing. Four years ago, in 2012, another group of scientists captured geysers very similar in the same area of the satellite of Jupiter. In fact, calculations and simulations of the amount of material expelled, as well as the altitude, are very similar in both cases.
If confirmed, Europa would be the second moon in the solar system that are known to have plumes of water vapor. In 2005, the Cassini orbiter of the NASA-detected jets of water vapor and dust spewing off the surface of the moon Enceladus of Saturn.
Sparks has pointed out that the data suggest that there may be eruptions intermittent, which reinforces the hypothesis of the active geysers. "If they are real, these jets have to be intermittent, as we see in the other seven images taken by the Hubble space telescope," he explained. However, the astronomer has pointed out that the Hubble is "the limit" in their ability to see Europe and not be able to take higher-resolution images to resolve the issue.
These results support the sending of a mission to Europe. Could be sent a spacecraft to collect material from the craters, which “would give an incredible amount of information about the ocean beneath the surface”, added the researchers. Instead of landing a device for piercing the ice, it would be enough to orbit in the vicinity of Europe. However, this potential mission, which would launch in 2020, would not be to look for life, but to search for habitability: a series of conditions that would confirm or desmientan the possibility that there is life on the satellite.
What are the chances you would have of the chemistry for Europe to hold to some form of life? Depends on confirm first that the holes are there. In addition, even though there was a small amount of biomass, to reach the space, the temperatures would end with his survival, so that you could only find remains of living beings.
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