Scientists, using the JWST, have made a stunning discovery about Uranus’ moon called Ariel. The results indicate that Ariel may contain an underground ocean of liquid water that could account for the presence of large amounts of carbon dioxide ice on its surface.
At Uranus distances from the sun, carbon dioxide exists as gas and escapes into space. Previous theories had suggested that the carbon dioxide on Ariel’s surface was replaced through radiolysis; a process which involves interactions between the charged particles trapped within Uranus’ magnetosphere and moon’s surface, Space.com reported.
But this new evidence from JWST says otherwise: Ariel’s inside.
Through spectroscopy of light from Ariel taken by JWST it was discovered that there are some places in this body with exceedingly high deposits of carbon dioxide in them than any other place in our solar system. Additionally, it was observed for the first time that there are pure deposits of carbon monoxide which should not be stable at an average temperature around 18 degrees Celsius (65°F). This implies that the supply must be renewed continuously meaning they might come from a subsurface ocean beneath Ariel’s icy layer.
Most probably these carbon oxides present on Ariel are produced by chemical processes in such deep-seated oceans before escaping through fissures or being ejected away by energetic cryovolcanic jets. Also, this notion is supported by carbinite minerals found there when rocks interact with liquid water; hence showing signs of an under-ice sea.
This calls for more funding to go towards missions to study Uranus and Neptune and their potentially ocean-bearing moons, as recommended by the Planetary Science and Astrobiology decadal survey in 2023. If such a mission were undertaken, it would give us information about these distant planets and their potentially habitable satellites thereby opening up new insights on exoplanets too.
The EPIC team aims to convey other important aspects regarding the Uranian system’s alluring nature and the significance of further investigation for revealing its secrets, as clarified in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on July 24.
