Posted on 05/28/2010 5:01:20 AM PDT by Frenchtown Dan
There may be enough oxygen in the waters of Jupiter's moon Europa to support millions of tons worth of fish, according to a new study. And while nobody is suggesting there might actually be fish on Europa, this finding suggests the Jovian satellite could be capable of supporting the kinds of life familiar to us here on Earth, if only in microbial form.
Europa, which is roughly the size of Earth's moon, is enveloped by a global ocean about 100 miles deep (160 km), with an icy crust that may be only a few miles thick. From what we know of Earth, where there is water, there is a chance at life, so for many years scientists have speculated that this Jovian moon could support extraterrestrials.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
The delay of 1 to 2 billion years before oxygen in Europa's crust made its way into its ocean is roughly the same amount of time it took life on Earth to develop before oxygen became a problem, so life might have enough of a respite to develop on the Jovian moon. Assuming life on Europa respired at rates similar to fish on Earth, the continuous rate of oxygen delivery there could sustain roughly 3 million metric tons of life, Greenberg said.
Interesting!
The “Monoliths” said for people to stay away from going there, if I remember the story correctly.
No problem.
As long as you drill the ‘whole’!
:0)
Duh!
hole!
Sheesh!
Not..enough...coffee
Thats a long way to go for ice fishing.
Maybe the leftists would like to build their utopia on Europa instead of forcing it on us Earthlings. Start building the ships to transport them...quickly...
It would take hours to cut a hole big enough for the boat.
No problem.
I’ll get a contract ready for B.P.
Yeah, but there’s no competition, and it’s so peaceful there, and no politics yet!
But after we drill the hole, we’ll have to plug the damn thing!
“All these worlds are yours, except Europa. Attempt no landing there. Use them together. Use them in peace.”
Final message from HAL 9000
“2010”
Where is this a quote from? Can’t seem to find it. Maybe a reference to the island?
“2010: the year we make contact” sequel to 2001: a space odessy. IMHO the original was better.
I should have known.
Clarke was one of my favorites.
Maybe he was on to something?
Not according to algore!
Thanks, I’ll have to check it out. Didn’t even know there was a sequel.
it wasn’t that good. the guy from jaws was in it, and there was a lot of policital cynicism in it that detracted from the message that we’re nto alone, and that those others are so alien that we simply cannot contemplate their existence.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.