Scientists may have found ocean on two of Uranus’ moons

A new study by a team of scientists at the Johns Hopkins Laboratory of Applied Physics (APL) in the United States, two moons of the planet Uranus there may be active oceans of salty liquid beneath their icy surfaces. The moons are Ariel and Miranda, two of the 27 natural satellites orbiting our solar system’s third largest planet.

published in scientific journal Geophysical Research LettersThe research discovered the information while analyzing radiation data collected during the Voyager 2 mission – it was the only spacecraft to ever reach the blue planet. Scientists analyzed data collected from the region of Uranus when the spacecraft passed by 40 years ago.

By reanalyzing data from energetic particles and magnetic fields detected by Voyager 2, scientists suggest that one or two of Uranus’ moons have abundant water-filled oceans beneath their icy surfaces.. They claim that Ariel and Miranda moons may be spewing particles into spacepossibly via a cloud of vapor or by ejection – the latter is a high-energy process that ejects particles into space.

Oceans on the Moons of Uranus

“A few years ago we discussed that measurements of energetic particles and electromagnetic fields are important not only for understanding the space environment, but also for contributing to the study of broader planetary science. It turns out that it may even apply to data older than me. The study’s lead author and APL spacecraft “It shows how valuable it can be to get into a system and explore it firsthand,” said scientist Ian Cohen.

While the data will require further analysis to confirm the information, other similar measurements have already helped determine the presence of water on the moons Europa from Jupiter and Enceladus from Saturn. In any case, Cohen says it’s not possible to pinpoint the origin of the particles, so results are limited until we have access to new data.