[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede, definitely has an underground ocean, researchers said Thursday after confirming the moon's long-suspected subsurface saltwater body with the help of auroras glimpsed by the Hubble Space Telescope.
The ocean is believed to hold more water than is found on Earth's surface, which broadens the hunt for places in the solar system where life might be able to exist, the US space agency said.
Ganymede, the largest moon in the entire solar system, is larger than the planet Mercury.
The Galileo spacecraft, which arrived at Jupiter in 1995, has already detected a possible magnetic field on Ganymede.
The Hubble Space Telescope has now confirmed that discovery, by establishing the existence of an ocean of water under its crust by observing changes in the aurorae around the celestial body. |