{"id":59119,"date":"2024-05-16T07:08:47","date_gmt":"2024-05-16T07:08:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cd632e74-cf94-41fd-9c30-8d27bc62a9b7"},"modified":"2024-05-16T08:09:40","modified_gmt":"2024-05-16T08:09:40","slug":"juno-images-of-jupiters-icy-moon-europa-suggest-a-subsurface-ocean-wandering-icy-shell-and-rupturing-plumes","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/juno-images-of-jupiters-icy-moon-europa-suggest-a-subsurface-ocean-wandering-icy-shell-and-rupturing-plumes\/","title":{"rendered":"Juno images of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa suggest a subsurface ocean, wandering icy shell and rupturing plumes"},"content":{"rendered":"

New images of icy moon Europa reveal some intriguing features. <\/p>

By Iain Todd\n <\/p>

Published: Thursday, 16 May 2024 at 07:08 AM<\/p>

\n\n

Images of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa captured by NASA’s Juno spacecraft<\/a> reveal some incredible features, including ‘Jupiter shine’, a platypus-shaped region and evidence that its frozen crust is ‘wandering’.<\/p>

The images of Europa were captured by Juno during a close flyby of the moon on 29 September 2022.<\/p>

The spacecraft came within 220 miles (355 kilometres) of the surface and captured four pictures that are the first high-res pics of Europa since the Galileo mission<\/a>\u2019s final flyby in 2000.<\/p>

Europa is of great interest to planetary scientists because it is thought to host a liquid ocean beneath its icy surface, making it a potentially habitable world.<\/p>

Any information gleaned by Juno could inform the upcoming JUICE<\/a> and Europa Clipper<\/a> missions, which will explore the moon in greater detail.<\/p>

Image of Jupiter\u2019s moon Europa captured by NASA’s Juno spacecraft during a flyby on 29 Septemebr 2022. Image data: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/SwRI\/MSSS. Image processing: Bj\u00f6rn J\u00f3nsson (CC BY 3.0)<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Europa’s wandering ice<\/strong><\/h2>

Images captured by the probe’s JunoCam visible-light camera and its Stellar Reference Unit (SRU) suggest the icy crust at Europa’s north and south poles has ‘wandered’.<\/p>

Images near the moon\u2019s equator show ice blocks, walls, scarps, ridges and troughs, as well as 12 to 31 mile (20 to 50 kilometres) wide steep-walled depressions.<\/p>

One pic captured by the SRU shows a double ridge running east-west (blue box in the annotated image below) and a feature known as the ‘Platypus’ by the Juno team (orange).<\/p>

These surface features have been associated with ‘true polar wander,’ a theory that Europa\u2019s ice shell is free-floating and moves over time.<\/p>

“True polar wander occurs if Europa\u2019s icy shell is decoupled from its rocky interior, resulting in high stress levels on the shell, which lead to predictable fracture patterns,” says Candy Hansen, a Juno co-investigator who leads planning for JunoCam at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona.<\/p>

“This is the first time that these fracture patterns have been mapped in the southern hemisphere, suggesting that true polar wander\u2019s effect on Europa\u2019s surface geology is more extensive than previously identified.”<\/p>

\"Image
Image of the surface of Jupiter’s mooon Europa captured by the Stellar Reference Unit on NASA’s Juno spacecraft, 29 September 2022. Top right can be seen double ridges and dark stains that could indicate plumes activity. Bottom right is a feature nicknamed the ‘Platypus’. Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/SwRI<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"Image
Image of the surface of Jupiter’s mooon Europa captured by the Stellar Reference Unit on NASA’s Juno spacecraft, 29 September 2022. Top right can be seen double ridges and dark stains that could indicate plumes activity. Bottom right is a feature nicknamed the ‘Platypus’. Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/SwRI<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div>