Jupiter’s moon Europa might erupt jets of water

Hubble data overlaid on image of Europa.

Lorenz Roth, Southwest Research Institute/USGS

Just a few days ago, we covered a study investigating possible circulation patterns in the subsurface ocean of Jupiter’s moon Europa that could help explain its surface features. That ocean is back in the news already, because the Hubble Space Telescope might have caught a glimpse of some of its water—being sprayed high above Europa’s icy surface.

Europa and Saturn’s moon Enceladus share so many traits that the casual observer could be excused for confusing the two. Both have smooth, icy shells interrupted by fascinating wrinkles, with properties that hint at a subsurface ocean. This latest finding appears to add another similarity to the list. Enceladus hosts beautiful and distinctive jets of H₂O that erupt from cracks in its southern hemisphere and form one of Saturn’s myriad rings.

Researchers were curious if something similar could be found on Europa, but, unlike Enceladus, it does not have a spacecraft in its neighborhood taking close-up pictures. So a team of researchers led by Lorenz Roth and Joachim Saur at the University of Cologne pointed the Hubble Space Telescope at it in November and December of last year.