” Triton might be an ocean world, a moon that has a strong ice crust over a liquid water subsurface ocean,” said Dr. Candice Hansen-Koharchek, who is a planetary scientist and was a Voyager Imaging Team Assistant Experiment Representative throughout the Voyager objectives. “If that is the case, and if we are able at some point to reach that ocean and discover life, that would extend the habitable zone to the Kuiper Belt, not just the inner solar system. That has profound implications, both in our solar system and at exoplanets.”
Due to its geysers, which Voyager 2 identified as dark streaks, Triton is only the 3rd recognized planetary body in the planetary system to be volcanically active, aside from Earth and Jupiters inner Galilean moon, Io. Unlike the geysers of Enceladus, which is believed to be caused through tidal heating, Tritons geysers are the outcome of solar heating, where the dim sunshine that reaches the moon causes the frozen nitrogen on the surface area to gradually melt and eventually erupt. The active geology likewise discusses the lack of craters on its surface, too, and it turns out that Triton holds another function comparable to Earth.
With its interior ocean and geysers of water ice that shoot out tens of kilometers into area that presumably contains the active ingredients for life, this small moon could be a prime target for future astrobiology missions. Enceladus isnt the only location in our solar system with active geysers, as another small moon near the edge of the solar system shares comparable qualities.
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Enceladus isnt the only area in our solar system with active geysers, as another small moon near the edge of the solar system shares similar characteristics.” Triton may be an ocean world, a moon that has a strong ice crust over a liquid water subsurface ocean,” stated Dr. Candice Hansen-Koharchek, who is a planetary researcher and was a Voyager Imaging Team Assistant Experiment Representative during the Voyager objectives. Due to its geysers, which Voyager 2 determined as dark streaks, Triton is just the 3rd known planetary body in the solar system to be volcanically active, aside from Earth and Jupiters innermost Galilean moon, Io. Unlike the geysers of Enceladus, which is thought to be caused through tidal heating, Tritons geysers are the outcome of solar heating, where the dim sunlight that reaches the moon triggers the frozen nitrogen on the surface area to slowly melt and ultimately appear.
” Triton has a nitrogen atmosphere that freezes into polar caps seasonally,” said Dr. Hansen-Koharchek. “The Earth also has a mainly nitrogen environment– can you imagine if our atmosphere froze onto the ground in the winter?! Although Tritons environment is thin, winds blow and scatter particulates across the surface.”
As mentioned, Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited Triton, but another NASA objective understood as TRIDENT was selected as a finalist in 2020 to explore Triton up close for the very first time because 1989, but was ultimately passed over in the last choice round by NASA in 2021.
” Trident would have developed the presence of a subsurface ocean– the initial step in reconnaissance of an ocean world,” stated Dr. Hansen-Koharchek. ” Trident carried a near-infrared spectrometer, which would have permitted us for the very first time to map the distribution of ices (N2, CH4, CO, CO2, and H2O) throughout its surface (Voyager did not carry a near-IR spectrometer so all we understand about the structure is what we can glean from Earth).”.
In the meantime, Triton orbits Neptune near the edge of the solar system with its active geysers, nitrogen environment, and possible interior ocean. When will we visit it again, and does this active moon harbor life as we know it due to its distinct features?
And with this, we wonder if Triton will lastly answer, “Are we alone?”.
As always, keep doing science & & keep searching for!
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