Europa

Source: NASA

Meet EUROPA! Potentially hospitable to life, Europa might just be one of the most interesting moons in our solar system (even though I say that a lot….!!!).

If you’re wondering what drives me to make such a bold statement: there is strong evidence suggesting an ocean of liquid water (liquid water= key element to life as we know it) hiding beneath its icy crust. NASA has been biting at the bit and is preparing a spacecraft (called the Europa Clipper) to investigate the moon for potential life. You guys, this is a really big deal. LIFE. The ingredients for life. Seeing that Europa is on average about 485 million miles away from our sun, that is amazing. So how the heck does an icy moon SO far away from the sun have a liquid ocean, you may ask??? Tidal heating. Jupiter’s gravity stretches and pulls the moon, making it geologically active. All of this stretching and pulling sends energy to the icy surface, making all those cracks, or “faults.” There’s still so much to know. This is a moon similar in size to our own. Hundreds of millions of miles away, orbiting a planet that is 2.5 times more MASSIVE than all of the planets in our solar system combined! Yes, combined. When I learn about all of these moons and stars and planets, I can’t help but feel like the size of an ant. Humbled, small and in awe of the organized chaos that is the universe (don’t even get me started on the multiverse). So look up tonight, go find even MORE.