WASHINGTON — Scientists said they have found evidence of water in the atmosphere of Jupiter’s icy moon “Europa.”
NASA said its Hubble space telescope observed the presence of persistent water vapor over a large area of Europa’s atmosphere.
Interestingly, the water vapor was only present in one hemisphere. It’s unknown why that’s the case.
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Researchers used Hubble’s ultraviolet imaging to make the discovery.
NASA said Europa has a very smooth surface and the solid ice crust looks like cracked eggshell.
The interior has a global ocean with more water than found on earth and could possibly harbor life as we know it.