10 weird water worlds in the solar system and beyond

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10 weird water worlds in the solar system and beyond

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Europa is an intriguing water world, it likely hosts a liquid ocean under its surface. | Credit: Tobias Roetsch/Future

Water is life, at least as we know it. Every life form on Earth uses liquid water, and researchers who study the origin of life believe life’s complex chemistry likely got started either in a

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or

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.

Therefore, planetary scientists are particularly interested in extraterrestrial places with liquid water.

While

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has liquid oceans on its surface, only 0.2% of Earth’s mass is water. By contrast, some planets and moons may be up to 50% water, meaning they could have oceans hundreds, or even thousands, of miles deep.

Let’s ***** into some of the most promising water worlds in the solar system and beyond.

Europadata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

almost illuminated rocky looking world with large ‘scars’ present on the surface, against a ****** background.

Scientists first became aware that Jupiter’s moon

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likely possessed a liquid ocean underneath its icy exterior during NASA’s Galileo mission, which launched in 1989. For nearly eight years, the

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orbited

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, where it observed interactions between Europa and Jupiter’s magnetic field that indicated the presence of water inside the moon.

The

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mission will travel to Europa to determine if it is habitable. It is the first time a spacecraft will travel to a water world. Researchers are particularly interested in the mixing of water and rock deep inside Europa’s interior, where nutrients and chemicals may be able to support microbial life similar to the way ocean vent sites host life on Earth.

Callistodata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

Bright scars on a darker surface testify to a long history of impacts on Jupiter moon Callisto

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, Jupiter’s second-largest moon, could also be

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. Callisto has the most-cratered surface in the solar system, suggesting that the moon does not have any geological or weathering processes. However, roughly 155 miles (250 kilometers) beneath the surface, a salty ocean may be interacting with a layer of rocks, which could facilitate habitable conditions deep inside the moon. Oxygen has also been detected in Callisto’s exosphere, the uppermost region of the moon’s thin atmosphere.

Ganymede data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

a rocky moon on the right of the image has lots of craters spread across the surface.

In 2015, scientists using the

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found that Jupiter’s largest moon,

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, also likely

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. Ganymede has its own magnetic field, which generates

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at its magnetic poles. Observations of Ganymede’s auroras showed that an interior ocean of liquid water likely suppresses the rocking of Ganymede’s magnetic field as it interacts with Jupiter’s magnetic field.

Ganymede’s ocean is thought to be 60 miles (100 km) thick, which is nearly 10 times deeper than Earth’s ocean. Ganymede and the other

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likely formed from similar materials that surrounded Jupiter during the early stages of the

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, which explains why each moon likely has a relatively high ratio of water.

Enceladusdata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

the infrared maps looks like an abstract painting with vibrant hues of blue and green covering a majority of the moon and a distinct red orange portion in the lower fifth of the image.

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— a small, icy moon of

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— is one of the most exciting places where planetary scientists have detected water in the solar system. This is because ice geysers on Enceladus’ surface spew water and ice into space, providing a way for researchers to directly sample materials from the moon’s interior.

This water and ice are ejected from an interior ocean, and in 2005, the

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that these materials gushed from the moon’s surface at roughly 800 mph (1,300 km/h). Warm vents are also thought to provide the moon’s ocean with minerals and nutrients that are crucial to life.

Titandata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

a composite of six views of titan showing a peculiar moon with red orange surface with some blue white and purple. , the moon’s equatorial dune fields appear a consistent brown colour, while bluish and purple hues may indicate materials enriched in water ice.

Saturn’s largest moon,

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, is unlike anything else in the solar system. Its surface is covered in lakes, rivers, seas, clouds and rain composed of the hydrocarbons methane and ethane. Beneath its icy crust, Titan is thought to house an internal liquid-water ocean, which could be home to life. Its surface could also host life forms that are completely different from anything on Earth, as they might use different chemical pathways to generate energy.

Although Titan’s chemical composition is very different from Earth’s, this large moon has features associated with habitability, such as a dense atmosphere and dynamic geological and weathering processes.

TOI-1452 bdata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

artist’s depiction of an ocean world

In 2022, using data from NASA’s

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, an international team of researchers

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. The planet is about 1.6 times the

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and is classified as a super-Earth. It is five times as massive as Earth, and its density may suggest that a large percentage of the planet — potentially 30% — is composed of water.

TOI-1452 b, which is about 100 light-years from Earth, is a prime candidate for further observations with the

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(JWST).

LHS-1140 bdata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

a close up view shows a hazy orange line cutting across the ****** background with a distant orange star glowing brightly.

In July 2024, researchers using the JWST observed an atmosphere on the exoplanet LHS-1140 b, which may sustain a liquid ocean on its surface. The planet orbits a red dwarf star five times smaller than

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and sits 48

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from Earth.

Further JWST data suggested the planet could be composed of 10% to 20% liquid water. LHS-1140 b orbits in such a way that the same side always faces its star. Additionally, current models have suggested the planet could be a giant snowball, which means there could be a “bull’s-eye” ocean on the side that always faces its star.

Kepler-138 c and ddata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

graphic illustration with a large exoplanet in the upper right corner there is a small star in the distance with a ****** dot transiting in and another small planet to the left of it.

Two possible water worlds, Kepler-138 c and Kepler-138 d, orbit a

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star 218 light-years from our solar system. In 2022, researchers found that the planets’ apparent densities suggested that these worlds

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.

Researchers think up to half of the materials that make up these planets should be lighter than rock but heavier than hydrogen or helium. The most common ingredient in the cosmos that fits these criteria is water.

HAT-P-11 b data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

a large ****** circle passes in front of a close up view of a yellow star, there is a hazy orange glow around the ****** circle.

In 2014, astronomers

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124 light-years from Earth. The

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, designated HAT-P-11 b, is close to its home star, taking only five days to make a full orbit. It is a scorching world, with surface temperatures that soar to over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit (530 degrees Celsius), and is believed to house a rocky core and a gaseous, water-vapor atmosphere rich in hydrogen.

Researchers spotted water in HAT-P-11 b’s atmosphere using a method called transmission spectroscopy. When an exoplanet passes by — from our point of view — its host star, the starlight travels through the exoplanet’s atmosphere. Different atmospheric particles absorb some of the starlight at specific wavelengths. By analyzing which wavelengths are absorbed, scientists can determine the chemical composition of the atmosphere.

K2-18 bdata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

Artist’s impression shows a half-illuminated blue planet with swirling white streaks across the atmosphere and a small yellow orange star in the distance to the left of the image.

In 2019, water vapor was

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of a planet called K2-18 b, a super-Earth 110 light-years from the solar system. The exoplanet orbits a red dwarf star and is thought to be just the right distance from it for any water on its surface to exist in liquid form.

However, planetary scientists are unsure if the planet is a rocky world or a giant ball of liquid and gas.

Additional information

Based on current exoplanet data, super-Earths and sub-Neptunes are thought to be the most common planet classes in our galaxy, and a subsection of those planets are likely water worlds. These planets are big, however, and the interaction of water in their oceans and rock in their interiors will dictate how habitable those planets might be. You can learn more about those dynamics in this research published in the

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.

Europa Clipper will give scientists unprecedented information about the habitability of small water worlds, such as those found around Jupiter and Saturn. Read more about

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on the NASA mission page.

Water worlds are thought to be common in the cosmos, which means they may be some of the best places to look for extraterrestrial life. For a discussion on how common they might be, read this paper in the

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. 

Bibliography

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Enceladus, NASA, [Accessed 7/19/24] [

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Ganymede: Facts, NASA [Accessed 7/19/24] [

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Kovačević, T., González-Cataldo, F., Stewart, S.T. et al. Miscibility of rock and ice in the interiors of water worlds. Sci Rep 12, 13055 (2022).

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Martin, W., Baross, J., Kelley, D. et al. Hydrothermal vents and the origin of life. Nat Rev Microbiol 6, 805–814 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro1991

NASA’s Hubble Observations Suggest Underground Ocean on Jupiter’s Largest Moon, NASA [Accessed 7/19/24] [

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NASA Telescopes Find Clear Skies and Water Vapor on Exo-Neptune, NASA, [Accessed 7/19/2024] [

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Piaulet, C., Benneke, B., Almenara, J.M. et al. Evidence for the volatile-rich composition of a 1.5-Earth-radius planet. Nat Astron 7, 206–222 (2023).

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Rafael Luque,Enric Pallé,Density, not radius, separates rocky and water-rich small planets orbiting M dwarf stars. Science 377,1211-1214(2022).DOI:

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Switek, B. Debate bubbles over the origin of life. Nature (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature.2012.10024

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]

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#weird #water #worlds #solar #system

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