Europe’s Secrets: Why Jupiter’s Moon Glows In The Dark?

A research team from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA) was able to monitor how the moon "Europe" - the sixth closest to Jupiter and the fourth by size - can glow in the dark, which may help a better study of Europe In the future.

Basically, the moon Europa consists of silicate rocks, covered by an ice crust from the outside, and some scientists believe that there are oceans of water below that crust.

Accidentally discovered

To reach those results, which were published in the journal Nature Astronomy and announced by the agency in an official statement on November 9th, this research team designed a laboratory simulation of the atmosphere on this moon. This experiment was called the "ice room." And where the snow was set in a condition quite similar to what happens on the moon Europe

Due to the close distance between it and Jupiter, which is located inside the planet's magnetosphere, Europe is exposed to intense bursts of radiation periodically, and according to the study, that radiation causes the excitation of the atoms that make up the ice and its contents of salts such as sodium chloride and magnesium sulfide, which causes glare The night is faint with a color close to green, and with a sheen that resembles the reflection of the moon's rays on the sand on a dark night.

According to the research team, the main purpose of the study was to examine the nature of radiation;

But they were surprised by additional, unforeseen results.

The team found that changing the ratios of chemicals inside the snow causes a change in radiation levels, which provides an excellent way to monitor the moon remotely, so that the nature of the glow can provide scientists with an opportunity to identify the moon's chemical components.

Graphic image of the NASA Around Europe Mission

Searching for life

This comes in the context of preparations that are now in full swing to launch two promising missions to study Europe, the first belonging to the US Space and Aviation Agency, called the "Europa Clipper" mission, and the second belonging to the European Space Agency (ESA), called the mission JUICE, both of which are expected to launch before the end of this decade.

The moon is Europe and one of the most important areas in the solar system, which astrobiologists are interested in, as they search for traces of minute life in it, as long as water - in any form - was possible for life to exist.

In this context, the results of the new study come, and have great importance for these researchers, as this new mechanism can help them identify the presence of organic materials on the surface of the moon, which may indicate the existence of life.