August 6, 1996
Somewhere between the Big Bang and this birthday, the universe learned how to make kindness, curiosity, humor, memory, and hope.
Europa: Oceans of Life?
Birthday · August 6, 1996
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APOD published August 6, 1996. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Is there life beneath Europa's frozen surface? Some believe the oceans found there of carbon-enriched water are the best chance for life, outside the Earth, in our Solar System. Europa, the fourth largest moon of Jupiter, was recently discovered to have a thin oxygen atmosphere by scientists using the Hubble Space Telescope. Although Earth's atmospheric abundance of oxygen is indicative of life, astronomers speculate that Europa's oxygen arises purely from physical processes. But what an interesting coincidence! The above picture was taken by a Voyager spacecraft in 1979, but the spacecraft Galileo is currently circling Jupiter and has been photographing Europa. The first of these pictures will be released two days from today. Will they show the unexpected? Late News: NASA to Release New Europa and Jupiter Pictures Thursday More Late News: New Evidence Suggests Microscopic Life Existed on Mars