''Ice-floe-like features on Europa's surface and certain characteristics of its magnetic field suggest there is an ocean of liquid water beneath its surface. The heat needed to keep it liquid has long been thought to be produced by Jupiter's gravity: Europa's distance from the gas giant changes during its orbit, which means the planet's gravitational pull on the moon varies.'' [source]
''Add carbon dioxide to the atmospheric brew enveloping a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a star about 65 light-years from Earth.
...
The planet orbits too close to its mother star to have temperatures that would be conducive for life as we know it.
...
The planet's eclipses -- it passes behind its sun once every 2.2 days -- provide scientists an opportunity to make the subtle distinction of which light is coming from the planet in the face of the overwhelming brightness of the star. Within the beams are features, similar to fingerprints, of what molecules the light has encountered.
"By using the primary and the secondary eclipse, we're actually localizing knowledge about the atmosphere over specific parts of the planet," Swain told Discovery News.
Some molecules, like carbon dioxide and methane, show up in infrared light. Others, such as oxygen, would leave their footprints in visible or ultraviolet wavelengths. '' [source]
No comments:
Post a Comment