Tag Archives: Europa

NASA IS ABOUT TO BUZZ EUROPA

Space Weather News for Sept. 28, 2022
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NASA IS ABOUT TO BUZZ EUROPA: For the first time in more than 20 years, NASA is about to buzz Europa. On Sept. 29th, the Juno spacecraft will fly only 222 miles above the frozen surface of Jupiter’s ocean moon looking for new fissures and plumes of water vapor. Of special interest is an area of chaos terrain called “Annwn Regio,” which will be right under Juno’s cameras. Full story @ Spaceweather.com
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Above: An example of Europa’s chaos terrain where icy rafts have broken free and refrozen due to subsurface water activity. Juno will be looking for recent changes.

Astronomers catch water erupting from plumes on Jupiter’s icy moon Europa

From Astronomy Magazine
Astronomers made the first direct measurement of water vapor in Europa’s atmosphere. It’s the best evidence yet for water plumes erupting from the icy moon.
Europasurface
Subsurface water on Jupiter’s moon Europa is one place where humans plan to search for life. This artist’s concept shows a massive plume of underground water erupting from the moon’s surface.
NASA/ESA/K. Retherford/SWRI
Jupiter’s moon Europa has an icy shell that conceals a liquid water ocean. Now, scientists have made the first direct measurement of water vapor in Europa’s atmosphere. It’s the best evidence yet for a water plume erupting from the moon’s surface.

The measurements also imply that outside of plume events, Europa’s atmosphere likely has less water vapor overall than previously thought. The scientists describe their findings Monday in Nature Astronomy.