SPACE — Earth isn’t the only ocean world in our solar system today. Water on other worlds appears in many forms, such as on moons, dwarf planets, and even comets. Ice, water vapor in the atmosphere, and oceans on other worlds offer clues to humans about our beloved extraterrestrial life.
Where are the oceans of the solar system located? The following is a list of sea sign discoveries by scientists:
Jupiter’s European moon
Scientists firmly believe that a subsurface salty ocean lies beneath Europa’s icy crust. Tidal heating of its parent planet, Jupiter, maintains the liquid state of the oceans and also creates lakes on most of the outer surface of the moon Europa.
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In 2014 and 2016, Hubble saw possible plumes of water erupting from Europa’s surface. It makes an excellent target for the upcoming Clipper mission.
Bulan Ganymede Jupiter
Ganymede is the largest moon in our solar system, and the only moon with its own magnetic field. Recent studies suggest there is a large underground saltwater ocean there. Ganymede may have several layers of ice and water sandwiched between its crust and core.
Jupiter’s moon Callisto
Callisto’s crater surface lies at the top of the ice sheet, which is estimated to be 124 miles (200 kilometers) thick. The ocean, which is estimated to be as deep as 10 km, may be under the ice.
Saturn’s moon Enceladus
Scientists estimate that a regional reservoir about 10 km deep lies beneath a 30 to 40 km thick ice sheet at Enceladus’ south pole. This underground ocean is thought to be the supplier of the moon’s impressive jets, which shoot up from deep fissures in the moon’s surface. In 2015, the Cassini spacecraft flew through a plume of smoke and found hydrogen, one of the three essentials of life.
Moon Titan Saturn
Titan is believed to have a subsurface salty ocean that is as salty as the Dead Sea on Earth. This ocean begins about 50 km beneath its icy shell. Possibly, Titan’s seas are thin and sandwiched between permafrost, or even thick and extend deep into the moon’s rocky interior.
Saturn’s Mimas moon
Research shows that Mimas has an ocean beneath its surface. If Mimas hid an ocean of liquid water, it would lie about 25 to 30 km beneath the impact-damaged surface of the moon.
Neptune’s moon Triton
Geysers or active flares on Triton spew nitrogen gas, making this moon one of the most geologically active in the solar system. Volcanic features and faults mark its icy surface, likely the result of past tidal heating. Triton’s new subsurface ocean is a possible hypothesis, because it hasn’t been confirmed yet.
Pluto
With towering mountains of water ice and flowing glaciers of nitrogen and methane ice, Pluto is a very active world. Mysterious fault lines, several hundred miles long, may indicate that the Dwarf Planet has hidden subsurface oceans. Source: NASA
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