![]() ![]() ![]() Jupiter and its moons are essentially a miniature planetary system unto themselves and can together teach us a lot. Yet there is evidence of a subsurface liquid-water ocean, likely due to high pressure from its thick ice shell above and impurities in the ocean that keep the water liquified at cool temperatures. Callisto, the outermost of Jupiter’s large moons, does not experience enough gravitational pushing and pulling to heat its interior like the other moons.More study of this moon is needed to determine whether its ocean is likely to be habitable to life. It too is geologically active due to gravitational tugs, which gives it a subsurface ocean. Ganymede is the largest moon in the Solar System and the only moon with a magnetic field, likely produced by its churning liquid-iron core.Could something similar be happening in Europa’s ocean? On Earth, life exists in the deepest, darkest parts of our oceans near hydrothermal vents releasing heat from our planet’s core. Europa has a thick crust of water ice with a liquid saltwater ocean beneath, warmed by gravitational tugs from Jupiter and Ganymede.Through and continuously erupts in at least a dozen locations. Because of friction caused by the gravity of Jupiter on one side and Europa and Ganymede on the other, it is molten nearly all the way Io is the Solar System’s most volcanically active world.Jupiter challenges our perceptions about where life can exist in the Universe. Europa’s ocean in particular may be one of the most biologically promising environments beyond Earth for life. Three of those four likely have liquid-water oceans under their surfaces, making them possible havens for life. Jupiter has a faint ring system and at least 79 moons, four of which are active, planet-like worlds ranging in size from just smaller than Earth’s Moon to larger than Mercury. By studying JupiterĪnd comparing it to similar exoplanets, we learn how planetary systems evolve and the possibilities for life elsewhere. To their stars, reinforcing the idea that our own Solar System’s large planets have moved from their original positions. Many of the exoplanets - planets in other star systems - that we have discovered are Jupiter-like worlds close Some of those asteroids and comets slammed into early Earth, possibly bringing water here in the process - the key ingredient for life as we know it. ![]() Position about four billion years ago, scattering asteroids and comets with its gravity in the process. It was probably born much closer to the Sun before migrating to its current Jupiter was the first planet in our Solar System to form. Astronomers have observed the planet’s Great Red Spot, a raging storm larger than Earth, for at least 200 years. Its red, orange, and yellow swirls, spots, and bands are visible even from small backyard telescopes. Named after the king of the gods in Roman mythology, Jupiter is a stunning sight to behold. ![]()
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