Juno space probe identifythat the likelihood of Jupiter's moon Europa being habitable may be lower than expected.
As NASA scientists reported, studying Europa's icy shell helped determine its thickness – about 29 km. Moreover, previously it was believed that this number ranged from 1 to 10 km. Scientists have long believed that Europa could be one of the top targets in the search for extraterrestrial life because beneath its icy shell there could be a salty ocean containing the elements necessary for life.
In addition, the researchers discovered the presence of “scatter bodies” in Europa's icy shell – heterogeneous cracks, pores and voids that scatter microwaves. The small size and depth of these structures mean they are unlikely to serve as a means of transporting oxygen and nutrients from Europa's surface to the ocean below the crust. All this casts doubt on the satellite's theoretical habitability.
The most powerful volcanic eruption in the solar system occurred on Io
Previously, the signal from the merger of a pair of black holes has allowed physicists to test Einstein's theory.
