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Possibility of life on europa
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Potential of Life on Europa
It is without a doubt that the most fascinating thing about space is the possibility of life elsewhere beside Earth. It is estimated that the Milky Way Galaxy itself contains about 300 billion stars. Each star contains planets and some planets might even have moons. With these findings, the question is no longer whether life exists elsewhere. The probability that Earth is the only place where life exists in the universe is far too slim. NASA has identified many planets that have similar conditions to Earth but most of these planets are hundreds of light years away so traveling there to find out if there’s any living organism is not easy. Luckily, scientific evidences have pointed out that one of the moons of Jupiter, Europa, could be one of the places where life can exist. If the theories proposed by astronomers about Europa are true, life on Europa might not even be entirely different than life near the bottom of Earth’s oceans.
Europa is one of the four big moons of Jupiter. Its position is be...
Finding life in our solar system could potentially answer the questions humanity has been asking for thousands of years. Sarah Seager, a professor at MIT, mentioned some of these thought provoking questions, “why are we here?”. Why does our universe exist? How did Earth form and evolve? How and why did life originate and populate our planet?”
Have you ever looked up into the night skies and wondered what might be out there? One question I always wonder is where in the universe might there be a livable planet? Well the answer might be closer than you think, well actually 588 million kilometers away from earth. Jupiter of course is what I’m talking about. Fell first let’s ask the why we might move. Let’s face it earth is not going to be able to be habitable forever in fact ate the rate humans are polluting the atmosphere earth won’t be around that much longer. So might need a new place to live. So could the answer be Jupiter? Before that we need to know a little about the new planet and if it’s able to sustain life. Let’s start with the Jupiter’s history. Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. Jupiter was named after the king of the gods and Roman mythology. The ancient Greeks named the planet after Zeus, the king of the Greek pantheon. In 1610, a man that goes by the name “Galileo Galilei” was looking through his homemade telescope when he came across Jupiter. He notice four objects circling Jupiter and described them as "four fixed stars, totally invisible by their smallness" it was there were he discovered four large moons Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, which underwent several name change but are now known as the Galilean moons. This was the first time celestial bodies were seen circling an object other then Earth. Jupiter spins faster than any other planet, taking 10 hours to complete a turn on its axis, compared to that of 24 hours for Earth. This rapid spin makes Jupiter bulge at the equator and flatten at the poles, making the planet about 7 percent wider at the equator than at the poles. This is Jupiter and this is Jupiter next to the earth. Jup...
Budget cuts also threaten to push future exploration missions further away. One mission that is important is a mission to Jupiter 's moon Europa, which scientists believes hold an internal ocean that can harbor life.
Pluto: A Planet of the Earth? Many issues have arisen from the debate over whether or not Pluto is a planet. Some astronomers say that Pluto should be classified as a “minor planet” due to its size, physical characteristics, and other factors. On the other hand, some astronomers defend Pluto’s planet status, citing several key features. Indeed, most of the problem is that there is no formal definition of a planet.
The existence of life – Aliens, beyond our planet has been a controversial topic for several centuries, and is a debatable issue even today in the 21st century. What is our topic you may ask? Aliens, Do, Exist. According to theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking, it would be improbable for life not to exist somewhere other than Earth. This is a bold claim, but there is evidence to support this statement. The evidence we seek is in the many Alien occurrences we have experienced throughout human history.
We have to keep on searching, and one of the ways to encourage research is to emphasise the possibilities of discovering life out there. And in the universe, with billions of galaxies that hold trillions of planets, it’s hard to believe that we are alone in this never-ending universe.
Right alongside the fifth and largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter, orbits a moon only about the same size as Earth’s moon. On this moon, is an icy surface that scientists are trying to uncover. Due to the presence of what they believe to be water, there is the possibility of life on this moon named Europa.
Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, has yet to be discovered as in depth as Juno will. NASA New Frontiers recently established the Juno Mission to observe Jupiter (Ionescu 1). The spacecraft is currently on route to Jupiter and it is set to arrive in 2016. Juno will orbit Jupiter thirty-three times total before shutting down (Ionescu 1). Juno will observe Jupiter with deeper observation than can be seen by a telescope. The Juno Spacecraft is a project made to discover Jupiter’s high winds, a possible water source, and the planetary structure.
Have you ever looked up in the sky and wondered if there is life elsewhere in the universe? Have you ever looked at a photograph of Mars and wondered if there really was ever life on it? People have a wide variety of opinions regarding these questions and with good reason. As far back as the broadcast of H. G. Well's novel, "The War of the Worlds", the world has been fascinated with the possibilities of what Mars may hold. Over time, the majority of people have come to realize that there is no way that life can currently be on Mars. Those who are uncertain think there may be microscopic bacteria underground.
"5,4,3,2,1, LIFTOFF! I think I see something on the radar, it looks to be as if it's a planet! I think I have visual contact, blue, thick clouds and maybe a little liquidy substance, probably water. Wait a minute, I think it's Neptune! We have to report this to the mission control."
Pluto is located 7.5 billion kilometers from Earth and is only over 2,000 km in diameter. Pluto has been labeled both a planet and a dwarf planet over the years. As said by USA Today, “a planet is a celestial body that: is in orbit around the sun, is round or nearly round, and has "cleared the neighborhood" around its orbit, meaning it is not surrounded by objects of similar size and characteristics.” Pluto only follows two of the three rules of a planet. Pluto crosses over Neptune’s orbit and is near other dwarf planets like it. Even though it breaks one rule it was officially named a dwarf planet in “August 2006”, as stated by the Library of Congress. After this event Pluto still only has one correct classification. Pluto is a planet because
The thought of potential life on Europa was a concept that the movie producers researched when choosing where their space mission was traveling to seek possible life. Today’s knowledge points towards Jupiter’s moon being a future destination for many space missions because of its large amounts of ice on the surface and deep oceans underneath. However, events turned unrealistic after the crew began their search on the surface. The women character in Europa scooped up the patch of ice in the life-detecting metal bin and life was reportedly found in the remnants. An important scientific aspect was broken.
There are many planets that are not suitable for human inhabitants take Jupiter for example, it has the great red spot, the great red spot is a hurricane that two or three earths could fit in. Not to mention Jupiter is a gas planet, so it would be hard to build a civilization on it. There was a galaxy system Trappist-1 with multiple earth sized planets but guess what, we can’t live there because the farthest planet is 94% closer than earth is so that means there is a lot of radiation, x-ray that means there would be little or no atmosphere plus like a lot of other earth like planets it is tidally locked meaning one side would always be facing the sun while the other would always be facing away.
With a field as large as space is, metaphorically and literally, there is no end to all the advantages that can come of exploring the magnificent cosmos. One of the major questions we face currently is the possibility of life on other planets. “NASA's biggest ambition is the hunt for life and a habitat that can support life. Several planned or prepared missions will specifically explore the question of whether or not life exists, or once existed, elsewhere in out solar system” (Folger 3). That's exactly what we plan on using the Curiosity rover for. The MSL (Mars Space Laboratory) Curiosity rover was launched November 26th, 2011 and landed on Mars on August 6th, 2012 (Launch 2). “MSL Curiosity's mission is to analyze the climate, geology, and habitability of Mars to see if there is or has ever been life on Mars. Then, after gathering enough data, it will see if it's feasible to send a manned mission to Mars” (Anthony 2). We are already searching ...
Space has always been a pivotal and utmost important subject for many years. In the past, scientists have made monumental advances in this field such as sending people into orbit and landing a man on the moon. Of course, this has only barely been explored and we still have a lot more to see of the ever-vast outer space. One of the most significant topics of all of science has only been touched and there’s still more to come.