But it may not be the only genesis in our solar system. Right now, Earth is the only true pale blue dot, the only place where life as we know it can exist, where temperature variables create a wide array of ecosystems and vegetation, where a thick, luscious atmosphere enables life by air, by sea, and by land. Still, it speaks to the abundance in our solar system, and the ways our views have changed from a dry solar system with a pale blue dot in its midst to one of abundant water and rife with possibilities for life. And water is also embedded in Saturn’s dazzling rings. Trace amounts of water vapor have been detected on Venus’, Jupiter’s, and Saturn’s atmospheres. There are hundreds more places in the solar system where water can be found, whether tiny, ice-packed moonlets never given official mythological names or just areas with a moderate accumulation of ice. Trace amounts of water vapor have been detected here. The Mariner 10 spacecraft captured this view of Venus’ clouds, enhanced. The other chief possibility is that Mimas has a football-shaped core giving it the unusual tilt.Īt around the size of Enceladus, the moon is too small to retain the heat from its formation, so any ocean on Mimas would have to have an outside force acting on it-possibly radioactive decay. The Cassini team says that it could be an ocean.

The moon wobbles as it orbits Saturn, which indicates something unusual going on beneath the surface. Yet a few unusual features hint at something weird on Mimas.

There doesn’t seem to be much more to it than water ice. Mimas, the “Death Star moon,” is pretty much one big snowball. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/Lunar and Planetary Institute The colors shown are enhanced, or broader, relative to human vision, extending into the ultraviolet and infrared range. This photo of Saturn’s moon Mimas was created using a color mosaic produced from images taken by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft during its first ten years exploring the Saturn system. NASA’s Europa Clipper will reach this ocean moon in 2030 to conduct a long awaited investigation. Europa could provide the possibility not just for life, but, if the conditions were just right, even complex life. There has been some evidence of ice geysers shooting from the surface of Europa, as well as evidence that the ocean could have Hadley cells-warm water radiating from the moon’s equator. Thanks to the tidal effects from Jupiter (friction inside the moon created by the pull of the planet’s gravity), the water would be kept liquid and possibly even warm below the icy crust, helped by possible hydrothermal vents. NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI InstituteĮuropa has been the biggest contender for life for years now, with a craggy, icy crust hinting in almost every way at an ocean below.

Beyond Earth, Europa is considered one of the most promising currently habitable environments in our solar system. Jupiter’s moon Europa shows strong evidence for an ocean of liquid water beneath its icy crust.

The outer worlds planets