Latest news with #OceanWorlds
Time of India
15-06-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Ocean worlds beyond Earth: NASA's hunt for life through water
Water, the cradle of life as we understand it, is no longer unique to Earth. From subsurface oceans on frozen moons to water vapor in extraterrestrial atmospheres, NASA's findings are redefining what we know about the universe. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now With its Ocean Worlds initiative, NASA is spearheading a high-stakes search for liquid water, thought to be the most critical factor for the presence of extraterrestrial life. (source: Let us discover the undiscovered Water in the universe With the ease of imagining Earth as the single "blue planet," it's simple to forget that water is much more prevalent than previously thought. NASA says the Orion Nebula, which is a star-forming region 1,300 light-years from Earth, churns out 60 Earth oceans' worth of water daily. That is not a romanticism but an estimate grounded in observation of water vapor clouds churning through interstellar space. These immense clouds of water are the material out of which stars, planets, and even life itself arise. The ocean world of the solar system Just a little closer to home, our solar system features a remarkable number of "ocean worlds", bodies that have liquid water present today or that have evidence of having had such in the past. Earth is only. But the others? Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, has a hidden ocean beneath its icy crust that is potentially two times the size of all Earth's oceans combined. This saltwater ocean is maintained in a liquid state due to the internal heat of the moon and potentially has the proper chemical conditions for life. Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons, is smaller than the state of Arizona and harbors a global subsurface ocean. In 2005, NASA's Cassini spacecraft picked up gigantic plumes of water vapor rising from its south pole. The plumes reported at hundreds of kilometers high carry organic compounds, hydrogen, and salt, suggesting hydrothermal activity deep within. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Then there's Ganymede (another Jupiter moon), Callisto, Titan, and even dwarf planet Ceres, all thought to have or at least to have had liquid reservoirs. Altogether, NASA now recognizes over a dozen ocean worlds in our solar system alone. Mars: The desert planet with a mysterious past Mars, the Red Planet, is now a dry and dusty world, but it wasn't always. Ancient lakebeds and riverbeds, as well as polar ice caps, indicate a watery past. A 2018 radar survey indicated that liquid water could still be present beneath the ice cap at the South Pole, buried beneath ice and rock. While only about 0.03% of all Earth's water is still visible on Mars today, the hunt goes on for underground aquifers with possibly still-existent microbial life. Did you know there is water outside the solar system? NASA's space telescopes have ventured well outside our solar neighborhood in the search for water. By analyzing spectra, scientists have identified water vapor in the atmospheres of over 10 exoplanets. Some are in the "Goldilocks Zone," where conditions may be suitable for water to exist in a liquid state on the surface, opening up the intriguing possibility of habitable alien planets. The James Webb Space Telescope will exponentially increase our capability to research such worlds, enabling scientists to scan atmospheric composition and even discern signs of biological processes if they're present. Water is not merely a molecule; it's the universal solvent that can accommodate advanced chemistry and harbor life. NASA's plan is basic but profound: "Follow the water." Wherever liquid water exists, whether under a shell of ice, in a crater, or churning in extraterrestrial clouds, it becomes the top priority in the quest for life. Missions such as Europa Clipper, which will launch in 2024, and Dragonfly, bound for Titan during the 2030s, are intended to explore these ocean worlds like never before. Equipment will take magnetometer readings, scan surface chemistry, and even try to fly through water plumes to sample them. In all, NASA has recognized at least 15 bodies in our solar system with evidence of water in some way. The number will likely increase as exploration continues. The universe, once conceived as arid and unfriendly, now seems full of the building blocks of life. The existence of water in the solar system and elsewhere is no longer speculation; it's a scientific fact. From the ancient Martian lakes to icy moons filled with vapor, water defines planetary geography and the course of space exploration. As NASA's Ocean Worlds program demonstrates, the quest for water is a quest for ourselves, for life in the universe, and for a deeper understanding of our place in it. Disclaimer: This article is drafted on the basis of information sourced from NASA's official website
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Yahoo
Images capturing a starving lion, fighting bison and pit of vipers honored in environmental photography awards
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Jaw-dropping images capturing the natural world, including an aging captive lion as well as an elephant wading through plastic, have been revealed as the winners and runners-up of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation's 2025 Environmental Photography Award. The annual photography competition is split into five categories: Polar Wonders, Into the Forest, Ocean Worlds, Humanity versus Nature, and Change Makers: Reasons for Hope. A shot of marine worms pushing plumes of sand from the tops of their cone-shaped burrows, captured by Angel Fitor in Spain in 2023, won the Ocean Worlds category and the overall grand prize, the foundation announced Tuesday (May 6). "These burrowing worms play a pivotal role in maintaining oxygen and nutrient circulation in the upper layer of sediment on the seabed, an activity that generates an entire ecosystem hidden under the substrate," Fitor said in a statement. "On location, it was impossible to predict when the worms would be active. This photo is the result of two months' work, with twenty dives of five hours each." Image 1 of 3 "Unseen Unsung Heroes," by Angel Fitor, winner of the Overall Grand Prize and winner of the Ocean Worlds category. Image 2 of 3 "The Passenger," by Pietro Formis, runner-up in the Ocean Worlds category. Image 3 of 3 "Portrait of a Leafy Seadragon," by Daniel Sly, runner-up in the Ocean Worlds category. Runners-up in this category included an image of a tiny octopus delicately balanced on top of jellyfish-like animals named salps, snapped in the Philippines in 2024 by Pietro Formis, and an eerie image of a leafy sea dragon off the Australian coast, photographed by Daniel Sly in 2024. The winning image in the Polar Wonders category was a spectacular shot of a lion's mane jellyfish. The photo was taken off the coast of Greenland in 2019 by Galice Hoarau. "Autumn in the East Greenland fjords is teeming with life, especially planktonic species ranging from tiny copepods to large jellyfish such as this lion's mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata) with its long stinging tentacles drifting elegantly through the water," Hoarau said in the statement. Related: Milky Way gallery: See awe-inspiring images of our galaxy A melting iceberg drifting in the waters off Iceland, taken by Michaël Arzur in 2024, and a battle between two female musk oxen (Ovibos moschatus) in Norway, snapped by Miquel Angel Artús Illana in 2021, were named runners-up in this category. Image 1 of 3 "Jellyfish and Iceberg," by Galice Hoarau, winner in the Polar Wonders category. Image 2 of 3 "Ephemeral," by Michaël Arzur, runner-up in the Polar Wonders category. Image 3 of 3 "Female Fight," by Miquel Angel Artús Illana, runner-up in the Polar Wonders category. A photo capturing a fierce fight between two male stag beetles, taken by Iacopo Nerozzi in Italy in 2022, won the Into the Forest category. "During the mating season, male stag beetles (Lucanus cervus) go into a frenzy, with lively but harmless clashes, in which bigger males often have the advantage over smaller ones due to their impressive mandibles," Nerozzi said in the statement. David Herasimtschuk's image of an adult and several juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), taken in the U.S. Pacific Northwest in 2023, and Santiago J. Monroy García's photograph of an Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus) lurking in the Colombian forest, captured in 2023, were named runners-up. Image 1 of 3 "Clash of Kings," by Iacopo Nerozzi, winner in the Into the Forest category. Image 2 of 3 "Coho Salmon in a Log Structure," by David Herasimtschuk, runner-up in the Into the Forest category. Image 3 of 3 "God in the Shadows," by Santiago J. Monroy García, runner-up in the Into the Forest category. In the Humanity versus Nature category, the winner was a picture taken by Amy Jones in 2023. It shows an elderly female Indo-Chinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti) named Salamas on a tiger farm in northern Thailand. "For over 20 years, she was confined in this cage and used as a breeding machine, producing cubs for industries ranging from tiger tourism to the illegal trade in skins, teeth, bones, claws and meat," Jones said in the statement. "Despite her frail and emaciated condition, Salamas survived the 12-hour journey to their 17-acre tiger sanctuary forest, where she was able to roam freely and experience grass beneath her paws and the warmth of the sun on her fur for the first time in two decades. Unfortunately, Salamas died nine months after being rescued." An image of an Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) wading through a soup of plastic waste in Sri Lanka, taken by Lakshitha Karunarathna in 2023, and a photo of rattlesnakes piled up in a pit in Texas, taken by Javier Aznar in 2020, were the runners-up. Image 1 of 3 "Breeding Machine," by Amy Jones, winner in the Humanity versus Nature category. Image 2 of 3 "Camouflaged in the Garbage Dump," by Lakshitha Karunarathna, runner-up in the Humanity versus Nature category. Image 3 of 3 "No Air in the Pit," by Javier Aznar, runner-up in the Humanity versus Nature category. The winner of the Change Makers: Reasons for Hope category was an image of a baby loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) that Fitor took in a recovery center in Spain in 2022. The runners-up were two images of rehabilitated armadillos and anteaters, both by Fernando Faciole. Faciole's image of a South American tapir (Tapirus terrestris) recovering from severe burn injuries in Brazil in 2024 won the Public Award, while the Student's Choice Award winner was Bambang Wirawan's photograph of a Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) in Indonesia, photographed from inside the bloody rib cage of its prey. Image 1 of 4 "Training Day," by Angel Fitor, winner in the Change Makers: Reasons for Hope category. Image 2 of 4 "Caring for the Unseen Giants, by Fernando Faciole, runner-up in the Change Makers: Reasons for Hope category. Image 3 of 4 "Little Giant's Walk," by Fernando Faciole, runner-up in the Change Makers: Reasons for Hope category. Image 4 of 4 "After the Flames, Hope," by Fernando Faciole, winner of the Public Award. RELATED STORIES —Beginner's guide to wildlife photography —Camouflaged animals are hiding in every one of these photos — can you spot them all? —Amazing photos of nocturnal animals "Images prompt conversation and consideration of how we can protect and value these irreplaceable environments across the planet. They cut through apathy, capture reality, evoke empathy, and ignite action," Ami Vitale, a National Geographic photographer and documentary filmmaker and president of the awards' jury, said in the statement. "Through this visual medium, we reconnect people with nature, highlighting not only the perils but also the promise and the hope that exists all around us."
