This is related to my earlier post on Life at Europa.
I tried finding out how the sun would appear from Jupiter and here is the link. Quite depressing actually, because you would not expect a bright morning from a sun this size. Consequently, surface temperature is expected to be lower than -160 degrees celsius. However, as I mentioned before, tidal flexing is believed to generate sufficient amount of energy to result in an immense ocean beneath the ice surface that covers Europa. The neighbouring moon, Io, is dotted with volcanoes because of the same phenomenon, with temperatures going up to 1200 degrees celsius where the molten lava boils over. This could keep the ocean at Europa reasonably warm, albeit not that bright.
A lot of gases that would be released into the waters would be poisonous for earth life, but who knows?
I tried finding out how the sun would appear from Jupiter and here is the link. Quite depressing actually, because you would not expect a bright morning from a sun this size. Consequently, surface temperature is expected to be lower than -160 degrees celsius. However, as I mentioned before, tidal flexing is believed to generate sufficient amount of energy to result in an immense ocean beneath the ice surface that covers Europa. The neighbouring moon, Io, is dotted with volcanoes because of the same phenomenon, with temperatures going up to 1200 degrees celsius where the molten lava boils over. This could keep the ocean at Europa reasonably warm, albeit not that bright.
A lot of gases that would be released into the waters would be poisonous for earth life, but who knows?
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