Europa is one of the moons that revolve around Jupiter. A thick sheet of ice covers its entire surface. Many scientists believe that the ice is covering an ocean of water, and that it is possible for life to exist on Europa under the thick ice sheet. Recently, using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers spotted water vapor clouds breaking out through Europas surface. This provided the scientists with a sign that an ocean exists under the ice sheet. Which of the following would best support the theory that life exists on Europa?

LIFE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM

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Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]

Europa is one of the moons that revolve around Jupiter. A thick sheet of ice covers its entire surface. Many scientists believe that the ice is covering an ocean of water, and that it is possible for life to exist on Europa under the thick ice sheet. Recently, using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers spotted water vapor clouds breaking out through Europa’s surface. This provided the scientists with a sign that an ocean exists under the ice sheet. Which of the following would best support the theory that life exists on Europa?

A	direct evidence of liquid water just below Europa’s surface
B	presence of water vapor in Europa’s atmosphere
C	presence of thick ice sheets on Europa’s surface
D	revolution of Europa around Jupiter

Explanation:

Detailed explanation-1: -Europa’s surface is made of water ice and so it reflects 5.5 times the sunlight than our Moon does. Europa orbits Jupiter at about 417, 000 miles (671, 000 kilometers) from the planet, which itself orbits the Sun at a distance of roughly 500 million miles (780 million kilometers), or 5.2 astronomical units (AU).

Detailed explanation-2: -The type of life that might inhabit Europa likely would not be powered by photosynthesis – but by chemical reactions. Europa’s surface is blasted by radiation from Jupiter. That’s a bad thing for life on the surface – it couldn’t survive. But the radiation may create fuel for life in an ocean below the surface.

Detailed explanation-3: -Europa is one of the Galilean moons of Jupiter, along with Io, Ganymede and Callisto. Astronomer Galileo Galilei gets the credit for discovering these Galilean moons, among the largest in the solar system. Europa is the smallest of the four but it is one of the more intriguing satellites.

Detailed explanation-4: -Q: Can humans breathe on Europa? Even though Europa is covered with ice and there is some oxygen in its atmosphere, humans cannot breathe there.

Detailed explanation-5: -Ocean. Several independent lines of evidence have led scientists to conclude that Europa almost certainly has a global ocean of salty liquid water beneath its icy crust.

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LIFE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM