Indian-Origin NASA Researcher Discovers Jupiter Moon Europa Glows In The Dark

We all know that in our solar system, Jupiter is the largest planet with 79 moons. With a surface filled with liquids and gases, the planet is in no way a hospitable planet. However, researchers believed that Europa, one of Jupiter’s moon, could possess life.

Researchers have found out that the dark side of Europa could glow in the dark thanks to strong radiation. And from this, scientists think that it could support simple life forms.

The discovery was published in a study in the Nature Astronomy journal. The result was a result of numerous experiments carried out by NASA scientists to study how Jupiter’s radiation affects Europa’s chemical composition.

For this experiment, the scientists set up an “ice chamber” at JPL, Pasadena, California. The chamber has chemicals that are believed to be the same as those on the Moon. The moon was then exposed to a beam of high-energy electrons simulating Jupiter’s radiation. They discovered that every time the chamber glowed every time the chemicals are hit by the radiation. As soon as they turned off the beam, the glow also went off.

Later, the chemicals were switched to stimulate the Europa environment, using magnesium sulfate and sodium chloride. The ice glowed in different intensities as well as in different colors such as blue, green, and white.

Now, NASA is preparing for the Europa clipper mission some time in the 2020s that could prove the findings and help researchers better understand the moon whether it can host life.

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