Europa

StarDate

If scientists took bets on where we might find life elsewhere in the solar system, the odds-on favorite almost certainly would be Europa, one of the large moons of Jupiter. It appears to have all the ingredients for life: water, energy, and chemistry.

Europa is a bit smaller than our own moon. And it’s a bit farther from Jupiter than the Moon is from Earth. Most intriguingly, it appears to have an ocean of liquid water below its surface. The ocean could be dozens of miles deep, and contain more than twice as much water as all the oceans on Earth combined.

Europa is locked in by Jupiter’s gravity so the same hemisphere of Europa always faces the giant planet. But as Jupiter’s other big moons move past Europa, they tug at it. That stretches and squeezes Europa’s interior, heating it up. There appears to be enough heat to melt some of the ice below the surface, creating the ocean.

There could be “vents” of hot water on the ocean floor. They’d provide both energy and minerals. Added to the water, that gives Europa all the major ingredients for microscopic life. That doesn’t mean there is life on Europa – only that it’s the most likely place to find it elsewhere in the solar system.

Look for Jupiter climbing into good view in the eastern sky by about 11 p.m. It looks like a bright star, so you can’t miss it. Binoculars will reveal its four largest moons, including Europa.

We’ll have more about Europa tomorrow.

Script by Damond Benningfield