Hubble finds first evidence of water vapour on Jupiter's moon Ganymede

July 27, 2021 16:10

Astronomers have uncovered the first evidence of water vapour in the atmosphere of Jupiter's moon Ganymede by using new and archival datasets from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

According to the study published in the journal Nature Astronomy on Monday, the water vapour forms when ice from the moon's surface turns from solid to gas.

Previous studies have offered circumstantial evidence that Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system, contains more water than all of Earth's oceans, NASA said.

However, temperatures there are so cold that water on the surface is frozen solid, according to the US space agency. Ganymede's ocean would reside roughly 160 kilometres below the crust, therefore, the water vapour would not represent the evaporation of this ocean. -- PTI

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

Meet Baldev Kumar from Punjab, first outsider to contest J-K LS polls

The abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019 paved the way for outsiders to contest polls in the Union Territory.

IPL PIX: Rahul, de Kock power LSG to easy win over CSK

Openers KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock hit fifties as LSG trounced CSK by eight wickets.

Phase 1 sees nearly 63% polling amid stray incidents of violence

"The voting percentage is likely to go upwards when reports from all polling stations are obtained as polling is scheduled till 6 pm in many constituencies. Final figures will be known on Saturday after the scrutiny of form 17A," the EC...

Manipur records 68% polling marred by violence, firing, booth capturing

At Thamnapokpi under Moirang constituency in Bishnupur district, armed men fired several rounds in the air near a polling booth prompting voters to flee, police said on Friday, adding additional security personnel were rushed to the spot...

Air India to soon have new crew management system

Air India will soon have a new crew management system that will help strengthen rostering rules and enable faster recovery from scheduled disruptions. In a message to the staff on Friday, Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson said that...