When NASA’s Voyager 2 flew by Uranus in 1986, it captured grainy photographs of large ice-covered moons. Now nearly 40 years later, NASA plans to send another spacecraft to Uranus, this time equipped to see if those icy moons are hiding liquid water oceans. The mission is still in an early planning stage. But researchers… Continue Reading Uranus’s Swaying Moons will Help Spacecraft Seek Out Hidden Oceans
Study of Saturn’s Moon Adds to Evidence of Strong Ocean Currents on Enceladus
Beneath the frozen surface of Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus lies a vast ocean where, according to a new study, turbulent waters carry nutrients and minerals from hot hydrothermal vents to the icy surface. There, the particles are forced through cracks in the ice and ejected into space within great gassy plumes. Such particles were detected… Continue Reading Study of Saturn’s Moon Adds to Evidence of Strong Ocean Currents on Enceladus
Underwater Snow Gives Clues About Europa’s Icy Shell
Below Europa’s thick icy crust is a massive, global ocean where the snow floats upwards onto inverted ice peaks and submerged ravines. The bizarre underwater snow is known to occur below ice shelves on Earth, but a new study shows that the same is likely true for Jupiter’s moon, where it may play a role… Continue Reading Underwater Snow Gives Clues About Europa’s Icy Shell