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Are there hidden oceans inside the moons of Uranus? Their oscillations could tell us

Pabio December 9, 2024

The possibility that liquid oceans lurk beneath the surface of orbiting moons Uranus has prompted NASA to begin planning a new mission that will send a spacecraft to the ice giant.

The mission is still in the conceptual planning stage. If the mission moves forward, it would be only the second in history to visit Uranus, after Traveler 2 flew over in 1986. And if it finds oceans of liquid water inside The moons of Uranuswe might have the answer to a profound question to help us in our search for life among the stars.

Doug Hemingway, a planetary scientist at the University of Texas Institute of Geophysics (UTIG) who developed a computer model for ocean research for the Uranus mission, says the discovery of liquid water oceans in the moons of ‘Uranus could mean that there are more worlds in our galaxy that hold a key ingredient of life than we know. “Discovering oceans of liquid water inside the moons of Uranus would transform our thinking about the range of possibilities for where life might exist,” Hemingway said in a statement.

All moons wobble or “rock” as they orbit, but moons with oceans inside wobble more due to the liquid flowing inside them. So finding out how much Uranian moons swing in orbit can give scientists the information they need to determine whether or not they do. Uranus’ moons contain oceans.

two gray spheres gently swing back and forth from left to right

An animation demonstrating how Uranus’ moon Ariel might wobble with an interior ocean (right) rather than being solid to the core (left). The oscillations depicted are exaggerated. A computer model developed by UTIG can calculate the thickness of the ocean and overlying ice (lighter colored layer) by analyzing the oscillation and combining it with other measurements. (Image credit: Doug Hemingway/NASA)

These swings are measured using a spacecraft’s cameras. Using this method previously, scientists discovered Enceladus, Saturn’s moon contains an ocean. Hemingway’s computer model is designed to help the same method work on Uranian moons.

Using theoretical calculations proposed by Hemingway, the computer model created a series of scenarios that could occur when the spacecraft flew past Uranus. So when the spacecraft measures the moon’s sway, NASA can use it to describe the features of the interior ocean.

The model produced by Hemingway “could mean the difference between discovering an ocean or discovering that we don’t have this capability when we arrive”, Krista Soderlund, associate research professor at UTIG, member of the mission’s science team Europa Clipper, which was not involved in this research, said in the statement.

In October, new research published in Planetary Science Journal suggested that one of Uranus’ moons, Miranda, may once have held a ocean of liquid water below the surface. The research relied on decades-old images from Voyager 2, which scientists sought to reverse engineer to see if they contained clues to internal structures that would explain why Miranda’s exterior was the way it was. he was when Voyager 2 photographed him.

The seventh planet from the Sun continues to surprise us. Last year, Chilean astronomers discovered a new moon orbiting Uranus it’s only 8 km wide.

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Are there hidden oceans inside the moons of Uranus? Their oscillations could tell us

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Are there hidden oceans inside the moons of Uranus? Their oscillations could tell us

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