The James Webb Space Telescope is the world's premier space science observatory. The two papers will be published in Science on September 21. These findings may help inform NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, as well as ESA’s (European Space Agency’s) upcoming Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer ( JUICE). All we can say with 100% confidence is that we did not detect a plume at Europa when we made these observations with Webb,” said Hammel. “There is always a possibility that these plumes are variable and that you can only see them at certain times. The team stressed, however, that their non-detection does not rule out a plume. The new Webb data shows no evidence of plume activity, which allowed Villanueva’s team to set a strict upper limit on the rate of material potentially being ejected. However, finding definitive proof has been difficult. Researchers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope reported tentative detections of plumes in 2013, 2016, and 2017. Villanueva’s team also looked for evidence of a plume of water vapor erupting from Europa’s surface. This work gives a first hint of all the amazing solar system science we’ll be able to do with Webb.” “Even with this short period of time, we were able to do really big science. “These observations only took a few minutes of the observatory’s time,” said Heidi Hammel of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, a Webb interdisciplinary scientist leading Webb’s Cycle 1 Guaranteed Time Observations of the solar system. Therefore, the scientists say it’s likely that it was supplied on a geologically recent timescale – a conclusion bolstered by its concentration in a region of young terrain. This instrument mode provides spectra with a resolution of 200 x 200 miles (320 x 320 kilometers) on the surface of Europa, which has a diameter of 1,944 miles, allowing astronomers to determine where specific chemicals are located.Ĭarbon dioxide isn’t stable on Europa’s surface. “This suggests that we may be able to learn some basic things about the ocean’s composition even before we drill through the ice to get the full picture.”īoth teams identified the carbon dioxide using data from the integral field unit of Webb’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph ( NIRSpec). I think that question has been a big driver of Europa exploration,” said Villanueva. “Scientists are debating how much Europa’s ocean connects to its surface. We think this implies that the carbon probably has its ultimate origin in the internal ocean.” “Now we’re seeing that carbon dioxide is heavily concentrated there as well. “Previous observations from the Hubble Space Telescope show evidence for ocean-derived salt in Tara Regio,” explained Trumbo. Webb finds that on Europa’s surface, carbon dioxide is most abundant in a region called Tara Regio – a geologically young area of generally resurfaced terrain known as “chaos terrain.” The surface ice has been disrupted, and there likely has been an exchange of material between the subsurface ocean and the icy surface. NASA plans to launch its Europa Clipper spacecraft, which will perform dozens of close flybys of Europa to further investigate whether it could have conditions suitable for life, in October 2024. Carbon is a biologically essential element,” added Samantha Trumbo of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, lead author of the second paper analyzing these data. “We now think that we have observational evidence that the carbon we see on Europa’s surface came from the ocean. Understanding the chemistry of Europa’s ocean will help us determine whether it’s hostile to life as we know it, or if it might be a good place for life,” said Geronimo Villanueva of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, lead author of one of two independent papers describing the findings. “On Earth, life likes chemical diversity – the more diversity, the better. This discovery has important implications for the potential habitability of Europa’s ocean. Moreover, it was deposited on a geologically recent timescale. Analysis indicates that this carbon likely originated in the subsurface ocean and was not delivered by meteorites or other external sources. However, planetary scientists had not confirmed if that ocean contained the chemicals needed for life, particularly carbon.Īstronomers using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have identified carbon dioxide in a specific region on the icy surface of Europa. Previous research has shown that beneath its water-ice crust lies a salty ocean of liquid water with a rocky seafloor. Jupiter’s moon Europa is one of a handful of worlds in our solar system that could potentially harbor conditions suitable for life.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |