icy moon
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Juno’s Best Images of Jupiter and Its Moons (So Far)
Jupiter and its moons are a diverse and dynamic subdivision of our solar system’s neighborhood, one that NASA’s Juno spacecraft has been visiting since 2016. Besides hosting the system’s largest planet, at over 300 times the mass of our own planet, the Jovian system includes 95 known moons, the largest of which are intriguing venues…
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Saturn’s ‘Death Star’ Moon Is Hiding an Ocean Beneath Its Mangled Surface
An odd little moon that orbits closely to Saturn just revealed its biggest mystery: a hidden ocean that lies beneath its heavily cratered surface. Mimas is less than 123 miles (198 kilometers) wide, too small to be perfectly round, and its icy shell is covered with deep scarring from objects slamming into it. Its most…
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Webb Telescope Spots Carbon on Jupiter’s Moon Europa, Boosting Prospects for Alien Life
The Webb Space Telescope has made its latest significant discovery: the observation of carbon dioxide coming from a part of Europa, the frozen moon orbiting Jupiter which harbors a salty water ocean under its icy surface. The finding is a boost for astrobiology, or the search for life beyond Earth. Carbon is critical for life…
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What Would Life On Saturn’s Moon Enceladus Look Like?
After NASA’s announcement last week, Enceladus is the icy moon on everyone’s mind — not that are are many others (sorry, Europa). According to the agency, molecular hydrogen has been found in Enceladus’ subterranean ocean, which bolsters the idea that the icy moon could host extraterrestrial microbes. Despite Enceladus’ frigid exterior, this ocean is thought…