Transient Water Vapor at Europa’s South Pole

• Published in: Science
• Main Authors: Roth, Lorenz, Saur, Joachim, Retherford, Kurt D., Strobel, Darrell F., Feldman, Paul D., McGrath, Melissa A., Nimmo, Francis
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2014
• Subjects: South pole
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1247051; https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.1247051

Europa's Plumes Jupiter's moon Europa has a subsurface ocean and a relatively young icy surface. Roth et al. (p. 171 , published online 12 December 2013; see the Perspective by Spencer ) analyzed spectral images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope that show ultraviolet emissions from the moon's atmosphere, and report a statistically significant emission signal extending above the satellite's southern hemisphere. This emission is consistent with two 200-km-high plumes of water vapor. Tidal stresses likely play a role in opening and closing fractures at the surface.