{"id":13246,"date":"2016-09-26T18:44:44","date_gmt":"2016-09-26T22:44:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=13246"},"modified":"2016-09-26T18:44:44","modified_gmt":"2016-09-26T22:44:44","slug":"hubble-space-telescope-images-show-possible-water-plumes-erupting-from-europa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=13246","title":{"rendered":"Hubble space telescope images show possible water plumes erupting from Europa"},"content":{"rendered":"

A team using the\u00a0Hubble telescope\u00a0spots possible water plumes erupting<\/a>\u00a0on Jupiter’s moon Europa<\/a>. Here is the official NASA press release:<\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s Hubble Spots Possible Water Plumes Erupting on Europa<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have imaged what may be water vapor plumes erupting off the surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa. This finding bolsters other Hubble observations suggesting the icy moon erupts with high altitude water vapor plumes.<\/p>\n

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This composite image shows suspected plumes of water vapor erupting at the 7 o’clock position off the limb of Jupiter’s moon Europa. The plumes, photographed by NASA’s Hubble’s Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, were seen in silhouette as the moon passed in front of Jupiter. Hubble’s ultraviolet sensitivity allowed for the features, rising over 100 miles above Europa’s icy surface, to be discerned. The water is believed to come from a subsurface ocean on Europa. The Hubble data were taken on January 26, 2014. The image of Europa, superimposed on the Hubble data, is assembled from data from the Galileo and Voyager missions. [Larger images<\/a>]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>The observation increases the possibility that missions to Europa may be able to sample Europa\u2019s ocean without having to drill through miles of ice.<\/p>\n

\u201cEuropa\u2019s ocean is considered to be one of the most promising places that could potentially harbor life in the solar system,\u201d said Geoff Yoder, acting associate administrator for NASA\u2019s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. \u201cThese plumes, if they do indeed exist, may provide another way to sample Europa\u2019s subsurface.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The plumes are estimated to rise about 125 miles (200 kilometers) before, presumably, raining material back down onto Europa’s surface. Europa has a huge global ocean containing twice as much water as Earth\u2019s oceans, but it is protected by a layer of extremely cold and hard ice of unknown thickness. The plumes provide a tantalizing opportunity to gather samples originating from under the surface without having to land or drill through the ice.<\/p>\n