NASA announces HUGE discovery!

So NASA is saying there is more water on the moon then expected as big as the great lakes.. Interesting. What do you think is there "life" on this planet?

Source

HUFFINGTONPOST.COM - New research that suggests Jupiter's moon Europa has a body of water the size of the Great Lakes just two miles below its icy surface has brought scientists one step closer to determining whether or not the freezing satellite is suitable for the development of extraterrestrial life. According to NASA, scientists have long thought that a huge ocean -- more voluminous than all of earth's oceans combined -- existed below Europa's surface. But since the moon is so far from the sun, the surface ice is thought to be tens of miles thick. Now, scientists analyzing data from NASA's Galileo spacecraft have found ice blocks on Europa's surface that suggest an interaction between the moon's icy shell and a lake-like body of water under the surface, Discovery reports.

reply to post by pavelivanov22


Just to be clear, the moon in question is Jupiter's satellite Europa, not our own Moon. Since there is liquid water there, there may be enough heat to support simple single cell organism. Life? Perhaps. Visiting us in flying saucers? Perhaps not.

Originally posted by pavelivanov22
So NASA is saying there is more water on the moon then expected as big as the great lakes.. Interesting. What do you think is there "life" on this planet?

Source

HUFFINGTONPOST.COM - New research that suggests Jupiter's moon Europa has a body of water the size of the Great Lakes just two miles below its icy surface has brought scientists one step closer to determining whether or not the freezing satellite is suitable for the development of extraterrestrial life. According to NASA, scientists have long thought that a huge ocean -- more voluminous than all of earth's oceans combined -- existed below Europa's surface. But since the moon is so far from the sun, the surface ice is thought to be tens of miles thick. Now, scientists analyzing data from NASA's Galileo spacecraft have found ice blocks on Europa's surface that suggest an interaction between the moon's icy shell and a lake-like body of water under the surface, Discovery reports.

if their is life only the higher up's will know about it, their could even be a race of "aliens" and well never know. cool avatar lol im listening to music and its boppin to the beat

reply to post by DJW001


By moon I did not mean our moon as you saw in the quoted text and article.

In my humble opinion there is almost certainly life (however primitive) on many planets and satellites just in our own solar system let alone the rest of the cosmos. I believe we will find life of some kind on the moon (our moon) Europa, Titan, Mars, on asteroids and much more.

People often talk about the "goldilocks zone" where a planet is just the right distance from it's parent star to support liquid water etc but in my opinion solar systems can have multiple "goldilocks zones" due to random chance.

Example...

Europa is outside the goldilocks zone in terms of distance from the sun but due to the gravitational effect of Jupiter tugging on the moon it causes friction in it's core generating the heat required to allow liquid water under the surface ice. So Europa is in a goldilocks zone of Jupiter.

reply to post by pavelivanov22


Jupiter's moon.. Thats still interesting.

Originally posted by welshreduk
In my humble opinion there is almost certainly life (however primitive)

Just because you call it primitive does not make it so ...

existing discussion here >

New findings about Jupiter's intriguing moon Europa.

"All these worlds are yours, except Europa. Attempt no landing there."

Intriguing

Originally posted by DJW001
reply to post by pavelivanov22

 

Just to be clear, the moon in question is Jupiter's satellite Europa, not our own Moon. Since there is liquid water there, there may be enough heat to support simple single cell organism. Life? Perhaps. Visiting us in flying saucers? Perhaps not.

It always amazes me with the recent discoveries of the last few years that they seem to jump light years ahead of what is reported being found by our equipment actually on the surface of Mars. It seems they are trying to knit a justification for life "out there" all around Mars without willfully making that specific point.

(Oh my! what does that wild assertion suggest? Anyway, I thank you for capitalizing our Moon. So few don't know better.)

Op, ugh...get your facts straight before posting.

Seriously.

Europa....not our moon. Christ dude.....

Interesting name for that specific moon...Europa. Europa has basically 2 definitions, one of which is a moon of Jupiter. The 2 definitions have a few variations well.

1. Greek Mythology A Phoenician princess abducted to Crete by Zeus, who had assumed the form of a white bull, and by him the mother of Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Sarpedon.

2. One of the four brightest satellites of Jupiter and the sixth in distance from the planet. It was originally sighted by Galileo.

Slight Variations / Alternate Definitions:

3. (Myth & Legend / Classical Myth & Legend) Greek myth a Phoenician princess who had three children by Zeus in Crete, where he had taken her after assuming the guise of a white bull. Their offspring were Rhadamanthus, Minos, and Sarpedon.

4. (Astronomy & Space / Celestial Objects) the smallest of the four Galilean satellites of Jupiter. Diameter: 3138 km; orbital radius: 671 000 km

5. One of the four brightest satellites of Jupiter and the sixth in distance from the planet. It was originally sighted by Galileo.

I'm guessing there is more to god reference than we think? Ancient aliens pretty much relies completely on the gods being aliens...Time for some digging this seems promising

S+F

Source for definitions

Originally posted by amongus
Op, ugh...get your facts straight before posting.

Seriously.

Europa....not our moon. Christ dude.....

This reply should be a lesson to everyone...

At least read the whole thread before jumping on the bandwagon making harsh comments..

The op cleared this up in the 3rd reply of the page.. so you obviously just read the op.. saw the first comment and replied.. christ dude.. That is a schoolboy error...

Originally posted by berkeleygal
"All these worlds are yours, except Europa. Attempt no landing there."

Intriguing

Indeed.

reply to post by pavelivanov22


Arthur C. Clarke featured this fact in a couple of his books. This is not news. Sorry.

It was an interesting idea then and now though.

I dont see how this is big news, they already knew there was water on that moon, who cares how much water is there, frick they're just slowly releasing little bits of information nobody cares about, I bet they're already way further then that with investigations.

Originally posted by Ittabena
reply to post by pavelivanov22

 

Arthur C. Clarke featured this fact in a couple of his books. This is not news. Sorry.

It was an interesting idea then and now though.

edit on 18-11-2011 by Ittabena because: (no reason given)

Are you serious??? There is a clear difference between a science fiction writer's ideas and actual scientific discoveries..

This is actually very big news..

Originally posted by Spock Shock
I dont see how this is big news, they already knew there was water on that moon, who cares how much water is there, frick they're just slowly releasing little bits of information nobody cares about, I bet they're already way further then that with investigations.

I highlighted the important part of what you said. That is the point. They are DEFINITELY MUCH FURTHER AHEAD than any of us know. That is why an announcement like this COULD mean something important.

It's called buffering and conditioning. It's how the government plays (well the strong ones anyway)...

They may just have found something...something BIG.
..and everything you think may just be (in the near future) changing in every way possible!

All of these findings come from the Galileo space probe, launched in October 1989, Galileo arrived at Jupiter in December 1995, and in 2003 was sent into a collision crash through the crushing atmosphere of Jupiter rather than risk the craft hitting one of Jupiter's moons. The probe made its closest flybys and produced the highest resolution images of Europa back in 1997 when it was just a couple hundred miles from its surface. So any new announcements come from analyzing the data sent back from then.

Before the Galileo lost all power NASA successfully directed it to collide with Jupiter but received no data of the plunge as the probe transmitted its final signal on its way, at the time communications took 52 minutes to reach earth at light speed.

reply to post by welshreduk


That's right mate, but not only that..'the Goldilocks zone' is only applicable to SOME of the life found here on Earth, by no means all of it.

Humans and other mammals for example require a 'Goldilocks' environment, extremophiles for example do not require one.

Neither does the organism just recently found on Earth that uses Arsenic in it's completely different DNA make up instead of Phosphorous as we do.

It's life, it's on our own planet (and we've only just noticed it!) and it doesn't require a Goldilocks zone.

What does this tell us about the requirement for life being in a 'Goldilocks zone'? It tells us it is flawed reasoning, based upon finding life that is a mirror image of ourselves and our own make up, (typically arrogant human attitude) and does not, in any way shape or form for one moment imagine that life could possibly be based on different processes than our version of it!