The 27 moons of Uranus may have active oceans hidden beneath their surface

Written by Rasha Kamal

Wednesday, March 22, 2023 03:33 PM

Twenty-seven moons that orbit Uranus may have active oceans hidden beneath its surface And it could pump material into space. The new suggestion comes from data captured in 1986, when Voyager 2 made flyby observations of the ice giant before it exited. Solar System It remains the only spacecraft to have visited the planet. Analysis of radiation and magnetic data led by a team at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory suggests that one or two of its moons – Miranda and/or Ariel – are adding plasma particles to the Uranus system, which are detected as energetic particles. “Besieged,” according to what was published on the site metro.

said lead author Ian Cohen, space scientist at APL: “It is not uncommon for measurements of energetic particles to be groundbreaking for the discovery of an ocean world.” Similar data gave scientists the first clues that Jupiter’s Europa and Saturn’s Enceladus were oceanic moons – the first confirmed in our solar system, using only one set of data, The team was unable to pinpoint the source of the particles. It could either be a vapor plume, as seen on Enceladus, or the result of a process called spraying, where high-energy particles strike a surface, launching other particles into space – similar to Newton’s Cradle.

“Right now, it’s about 50-50 whether it’s one or the other,” Cohen said. Whatever the mechanism, either action would create a stream of particles ejected from the moon, or moons, into space, creating electromagnetic waves — enabling Voyager 2 detected activity. Previous observations had already indicated that five of Uranus’ moons, including Miranda and Ariel, harbored subterranean oceans, but with no new data, the team can’t say for sure that the particles are the result of mundane seas. “The data is consistent with the very exciting potential of an active ocean moon out there,” Cohen said. “We can always do more comprehensive models, but until we get new data, the result will always be limited.”

The findings add impetus to growing calls for a trip back to the outer planets of our solar system. In April of last year, a panel of top scientists recommended that NASA’s next planetary mission be to return to the turquoise giant — at a cost of up to $4.2 billion. NASA has yet to confirm what If she were to take over the project, Cohen added: “We’ve demonstrated this case for a few years now that measurements of energetic particles and the electromagnetic field are important, not only for understanding the space environment, but also for contributing to larger planetary science investigations.” “It turns out that this could be the case for For data older than I am now.