Europa, a moon of Jupiter, has a smooth surface due to its internal ocean and experiences true polar wander.
Juno images revealed evidence of possible plume activity and dark stains on Europa's surface.
NASA's Juno spacecraft captured high-resolution images of Europa during its closest approach on September 29, 2022.
The Platypus feature is one of the youngest on Europa's surface, suggesting that Europa's ice shell may give way in locations where pockets of briny water from the subsurface ocean are present.
The Platypus region, a large area of chaos terrain on Europa, is a potential target for both NASA's Europa Clipper mission and the European JUICE mission due to its connection to Europa's subsurface ocean.
NASA's Juno spacecraft captured high-resolution images of Jupiter's moon Europa during its closest approach on September 29, 2022. The images revealed several intriguing features, including a large area of chaos terrain named 'Platypus', which is a potential target for both NASA's Europa Clipper mission and the European JUICE mission. The Platypus region spans 37 kilometers by 67 kilometers (23 miles by 42 miles) and may be an area where briny liquid seeps to the surface, partially melting the icy crust. Scientists suspect that such regions may be primary targets for future missions due to their potential connection to Europa's subsurface ocean.
The Juno images also showed evidence of possible plume activity and dark stains on Europa's surface, which hint at present-day surface activity and the presence of subsurface liquid water. The Platypus feature is one of the youngest on Europa's surface, suggesting that Europa's ice shell may give way in locations where pockets of briny water from the subsurface ocean are present.
Europa, a moon of Jupiter, is known for its smooth surface due to its internal ocean. True polar wander occurs when Europa's icy shell rotates at a different rate from its rocky interior, causing high stress levels and predictable fracture patterns. The Juno images provide valuable information that could inform future missions to explore Europa and potentially discover more about the existence of life beyond Earth.
NASA's Galileo spacecraft previously visited Europa in 2000, but the new Juno images offer higher resolution and more detailed information about this intriguing moon. The upcoming Europa Clipper mission and ESA's JUICE mission are expected to provide even more insights into Europa's geology, composition, and potential habitability.
NASA's Juno spacecraft captured high-resolution images of Europa during its closest approach in September 2022.
Four high-resolution images of Europa’s surface were taken by JunoCam.
The Platypus is a large area of chaos terrain, spanning 37 kilometers by 67 kilometers (23 miles by 42 miles).
Chaos terrain may be areas where briny liquid seeps to the surface and partially melts the icy crust.
The Platypus is one of the youngest features on Europa’s surface.
Scientists suspect that such regions may be primary targets for both NASA’s Europa Clipper mission and the European JUICE mission.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(95%)
The author makes several statements that are supported by evidence and do not contain any identified fallacies. However, there is one instance of an appeal to authority when the author quotes Heidi Becker's statement about the Platypus being a primary target for future missions. This reduces the score slightly.
‒These features hint at present-day surface activity and the presence of subsurface liquid water on Europa,– said Heidi Becker, who is the SRU's lead co-investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in a statement.
The discovery of trenches, somewhat analogous to the tiger stripes on Enceladus—the points of origin for the world’s plumes—will provide Europa Clipper and JUICE with regions to target in their search for the plumes on Europa as well.
NASA's flyby of Europa suggests something stirring beneath the ice
Europa is the smoothest object in the Solar System due to its internal ocean
True polar wander occurs when Europa’s icy shell rotates at a different rate from its rocky interior, causing high stress levels and predictable fracture patterns
A feature named ‘Platypus’ has been identified with possible pockets of salt water beneath the icy shell
Dark stains on Europa hint at present-day surface activity and the presence of subsurface liquid water
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(80%)
The article contains some selective reporting and emotional manipulation. The author mentions 'something stirring beneath the ice' in the title and later states 'These features hint at present-day surface activity and the presence of subsurface liquid water on Europa.' However, there is no concrete evidence presented in the article to support these claims. The author also uses phrases like 'remarkably', 'shocking neglect', and 'exciting' to manipulate the reader's emotions. Additionally, some statements are made without proper attribution or context.
Nothing’s conclusive yet, but it sets the stage for the Europa Clipper’s visit to be as exciting as hoped when it was planned.
These features hint at present-day surface activity and the presence of subsurface liquid water on Europa.
Fallacies
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Bias
(95%)
The author uses language that implies excitement and importance when discussing potential discoveries on Europa, which could be seen as bias towards the idea that there is something significant happening beneath the moon's surface. The author also mentions 'true polar wander' multiple times in a positive context, which could be seen as an ideological bias towards this specific explanation for Europa's geological features.
It sets the stage for the Europa Clipper’s visit to be as exciting as hoped when it was planned.
Such pockets would be exciting indirect targets for study by the Europa Clipper, but more interesting still are dark stains that may have been deposited by cryovolcanic activity.
The idea behind true polar wander is that the shell that rests on top of Europa’s internal ocean is rotating at a different rate from the rest of the moon.
The Platypus is the youngest feature in its neighborhood and suggests that Europa's ice shell may give way in locations where pockets of briny water from the subsurface ocean are present.
NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured high-resolution images of Europa during its closest approach in September 2022.
'the Platypus' is a large area of chaos terrain, spanning 37 kilometers by 67 kilometers (23 miles by 42 miles).
A feature named 'Platypus' has been identified with possible pockets of salt water beneath the icy shell.
Dark stains on Europa hint at present-day surface activity and the presence of subsurface liquid water.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(95%)
The article contains some instances of appeals to authority and inflammatory rhetoric, but no formal or dichotomous fallacies are present. The author quotes experts in the field and provides evidence from scientific studies to support their claims.
][Candy Hansen, a Juno co-investigator who leads planning for JunoCam at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona] True polar wander occurs if Europa's icy shell is decoupled from its rocky interior, resulting in high stress levels on the shell, which lead to predictable fracture patterns.[/]
[Heidi Becker, lead co-investigator for the SRU at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California] These features hint at present-day surface activity and the presence of subsurface liquid water on Europa.[
