Latest news with #MonthlyNoticesoftheRoyalAstronomicalSociety.The

Economic Times

Is Europa, Jupiter's ocean moon, the final haven for life once the sun dies? Here's what a recent study shows

In approximately 4.5 billion years, as the sun transforms into a red giant and engulfs Earth, Jupiter's moon Europa may offer a temporary refuge. Research suggests Europa's icy shell will sublimate, potentially creating a fleeting water vapor atmosphere lasting up to 200 million years. This could provide a brief window for habitable conditions and detectable biosignatures. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads How does the red giant sun affect Europa? Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Can Europa's oceans survive the heat? What are the chances of finding life or biosignatures? FAQs The most intriguing question is what will happen to life in our solar system after the sun sun will become a red giant and wipe out Earth in roughly 4.5 billion years. The cold moons of the outer solar system may provide humanity a fleeting chance to survive, while new science offers us a glimpse of a distant, dying future. Europa , one of Jupiter's moons, might serve as a temporary safe at Cornell University's Carl Sagan Institute reached this conclusion and published their findings in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical sun will reach the end of its life cycle in roughly 4.5 billion years. Its hydrogen fusion core will grow, inflating the star's outer atmosphere to enormous proportions. It will enlarge and turn into a red giant star, burning up Earth and swallowing up Venus and Mercury, as per a report by the sun enters this new stage of life, the habitable zone, the region where the radiation influx is just right to support liquid water on a planet's surface, will gradually move Jupiter remains an inhospitable giant ball of gas, some of its moons could potentially lead to a habitable the ice-covered moon of Jupiter, will receive a lot of heat. Jupiter will become hotter and reflect more sunlight, which will give the small moon its own source of heat besides the giant sun's scientists discovered that the oceans below will evaporate while the icy outer shell sublimates. Because it will receive the most heat, the side of Europa facing Jupiter will experience the most sublimation, as per a report by the anti-Jupiter side of Europa, the rate of water loss will be slower in the northern and southern latitudes. According to the researchers, this might produce a thin layer of water vapor that lasts for 200 million years or researchers discovered that biosignatures may be detectable on icy moons of red giant stars. Although there are a number of promising candidates, we have not yet detected any exomoons with resolving power to investigate these moons' atmospheric features may come from future observations using the James Webb Space Telescope or the proposed Habitable Worlds Observatory. Even though the likelihood of finding life is narrow, it does expand the range of potential places for our search because there might still be refuges around almost-dead but only for a short time up to 200 million years in isolated areas where water loss is underground oceans and temporary water vapor atmosphere may provide brief habitable conditions.