SOLAR SYSTEM
Why are Jupiter’s four largest moons so hot?
A new study points to ‘tidal heating’ being the reason — caused by the moons’ gravitational fields tugging on one another
When it comes to getting surprised by the universe, we don’t really have to venture into deep space — we continue to find a growing list of surprises in our own solar system. Be it methane lakes on Titan, Phosphine molecules in Venus’ atmosphere, or ancient river beds on the Martian surface. There is a mystery lurking on literally every planet and the biggest planet in our star system, Jupiter, is no exception.
With hosting almost 80 moons, the gas giant has a planetary system of its own. Up until now, it was suspected that most of these satellites would be frozen balls of rock and ice — being 484 million mi (778 million km) from the Sun. On the contrary, Galilean Moons Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto — four of the largest moons are anything but that.
Europa, Ganymede & Callisto are warm enough to have subsurface global oceans, while the Io’s interior is so hot that it is riddled with active volcanoes. In fact, NASA is sending the Dragonfly mission to look for possible Alien life in the sub-surface oceans of Europa. The mission will be launched in 2026 and will get…
