Jupiter's Moon Europa Is Spewing Water Vapor

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  via Giphy

  A team of researchers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center has confirmed that there are traces of water vapor on Europa's surface. This is a huge deal, because on all non-Earth planets or moons, water equals life (or the possibility of it). While the water isn't in liquid form, water vapor is the next best thing. Especially considering that Europa is high up on the list of planets with the potential to host life. 

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  via Giphy

  The researchers used a spectrograph to detect the chemical compositions on Europa by scanning the infrared light they release or absorb. They were only just able to detect the water vapor on Europa, but it is being released at such a speed that it could fill an Olympic-size swimming pool in minutes. 

  Scientists have suspected that water exists on Europa for many years, but this is the first confirmation of the theory. Over twenty years ago, NASA's Galileo spacecraft found evidence of an electrically conductive fluid on the moon's surface. Recent analysis of the data found evidence of massive plumes of liquid, which was backed up by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. It appeared that water vapor was shooting out of Europa like jets. 

  Precious NASA missions and telescopes on Earth have discovered strong evidence suggesting that there is an ocean of water underneath Europa's surface. The plumes of water vapor may be breaking through cracks in the Europa's crust, forced upwards by an unknown force and transformed from liquid into vapor.

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  via Giphy

  There's not much more scientists can find out about Europa until they (or a spacecraft) can get closer to the moon - which could happen as early as 2023. Until NASA's Europa Clipper mission takes off, we'll have to be patient in our search for extraterrestrial life. 

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