Jupiter moon 'could be a habitat for life'

Published on Wednesday 14 May 2008 22:14

SHIFTING poles on one of Jupiter's moons strongly suggest the presence of a global ice-covered ocean, it was revealed yesterday.

The discovery of "wandering poles" on Europa provides further evidence of a liquid ocean beneath an icy crust.

Many scientists believe the hidden ocean, warmed by tidal forces from Jupiter's powerful gravity, may provide a suitable habitat for life.

Europa, slightly smaller than the Earth's moon, has a number of unexplained surface features pointing to a turbulent geological history.

One example is two groups of broad troughs and depressions at diametrically opposite locations on Europa's surface.

Images from three spacecraft, Voyager, Galileo and New Horizons, show several arc-shaped depressions extending more than 500 kilometres.

Scientists writing in the journal Nature said these were just the sort of patterns that would be expected to result from stresses caused by wandering poles.