Modeling based on archival data showed the presence of an ocean beneath the surface of the four moons of Uranus. In this respect informs Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Uranus is the seventh planet in the solar system and is also one of the least explored. Only one spacecraft passed by, in 1986 the American Voyager 2. Astronomers know of 27 moons of this planet, five of which can be called large.
Jet Propulsion Lab experts afflicted He found that four of them could include an ocean of liquid water, and computer simulations of the structure of these moons. The authors analyzed archival data collected by Voyager and added to it the results of observations made using modern ground-based telescopes. Thus, the analysis of photographs of the surfaces and craters located on them made it possible to determine how long ago they were formed, from which it was possible to obtain data on volcanic activity and the structure of the bowels in the past. The modeling was based on new data in geochemistry, and was also based on studying similar icy bodies with spacecraft—for example, Enceladus (Saturn’s moon) using Cassini.
As a result, simulations showed that the four satellites may have oceans powered by the heat generated inside them. This subterranean ocean must be less than 30 km deep in Ariel and Umbriel and less than 50 km in Titania and Oberon. The heat source to keep the water liquid is the radioactive elements in the moonstone core, plus chlorides and ammonia, which act as antifreeze, can dissolve in the water. More detailed information can be obtained with the help of the new spacecraft, which is likely to be launched. rescheduled Due to the shortage of plutonium-238 in the late 2030s.
How an ocean could exist on icy worlds far from the Sun can be read in these books: note “socialbites.ca”.