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- There are 173 moons circling planets in our solar system. Enceladus and Europa are the two most likely to support life?
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-. What environments does life need as we know it.
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-. Life needs energy. Energy can come from the Sun in the form of radiation. It can come from internal radiation, heat generated by friction or radioactivity.
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-. But, not too much radiation. It needs a shield from too much radiation ,or, from too much energy arriving in the form of meteoric impacts. The atmospheres and ice shields are two forms of protective shields.
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-. Life as we know it also needs water.
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-. For life to evolve with these above 2 ingredients it also needs stability for millions of years. Life on Earth evolved over 3,000 million years. That's a long time.
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-. But, life's evolution does best without too much stability. Life needs dynamics in smaller environmental changes and in geological activity that creates diversity and survival of the fittest.
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-. Obviously, these condition existed on Earth or I would not be here talking about it. It is interesting how much our Moon contributed to the stability and to the dynamics in Earth's environment to help our evolving life on this planet.
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-. These 4 conditions for life might well exist on at least 2 other moons in our solar system:
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---------------- Enceladus, one of Saturn’s 62 moons.
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---------------- Europa, one of Jupiter's 67 moons
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-. Enceladus is the second closest moon orbiting Saturn , just 148,000 miles outside the rings. It is an ice ball that reflects nearly 100 % of the sunlight that hits its surface. Our Moon reflects just 7 % of its sunlight. The average temperature on Enceladus’ surface is minus ,-205 centigrade.
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-. Enceladus is only 311 miles in diameter, 3.9 % the size of the Earth, and 14 % the size of our Moon. Its density is just a little more than pure water, 1.24 grams per cubic centimeter.
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-. Cryovolcanics on the surface of Enchiladas are spewing jets of water vapor and ice into outer space. The ice debris contains ammonia which acts as an anti-freeze. 2 % of the jets are sodium salt. The temperature of the geysers is -93 centigrade which is 112 degrees above the average surface temperature.
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-. Enceladus is in a locked rotation orbit around Saturn that takes 1.37 days. Tidal heating from the gravity pull of Saturn causes internal heat that creates these geological activities. There is likely an internal ocean beneath the ice shield that is on the surface. Note that all 4 ingredients are there for evolving life? Is there life in these oceans?
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-Europa is one of 4 moons you can easily see with binoculars orbiting Jupiter. Europa is 1,944 miles in diameter, 180 % that of our Moon.
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-. Europa's surface is an ever-changing boundary of floating ice and water oozing through cracks from the salty oceans below. The surface temperature is - 150 centigrade. How can liquid water exist there?
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-. The tidal forces of Jupiter constantly twist and distort the mantle below the subsurface liquid water. The flexing and friction generate the internal heat. Hydrothermal vents may also be heating the oceans below the surface.
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-. The 10 mile thick ice cover is a protective shield. It is pockmarked like our Moon. It's geological dynamics have refreshed surface to only 60 million years old. Our Moon’s surface is 4,370 million years old.
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-. Titon is another of Saturn's 62 moons. It has a hazy atmosphere that rains liquid methane. Its atmosphere protects it from meteor impacts and radiation. It has a stable environment, but, it is too cold for life, and, hydrocarbons are not as nice as water for life's evolution.
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-. Io is another of Jupiter's 67 moons. It is a most volcanic world in our solar system. Io is slightly larger than our Moon but has multiple erupting volcanoes, daily shooting plumes of lava 250 miles above the surface. All of this heat is generated by the tidal forces from Jupiter.
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-. Triton is one of Neptune's 14 moons. It is more likely a captured Kuiper Belt Object. There are at least 85 of these moon -size objects in the Kuiper Belt. Triton orbits in the wrong direction. Neptune turns clockwise every 16 hours and Triton orbits counterclockwise every 6 days. Triton is 1,700 miles in diameter. It surface is interlaced icy patterns of frozen nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and water. It spouts nitrogen geysers and maintains a slight atmosphere.
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-. It is not just planets that have moons. Over 150 asteroids also have orbiting satellites. The planet Mars has two moons that are most likely captured asteroids. Our moon has the most unique beginning of these total 425 Solar System objects.
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-. Our Moon is formed by an it impact from a Mars- size proto-planet that struck the Earth in its early evolution. The impact created an accretion disk of splashed earth crust that eventually coalesced into a single moon. This was early in Earth's evolution 4,370 million years ago. In the beginning the Moon was orbiting much closer to the Earth and the Earth was rotating faster. The Moon has stopped spinning and it is further away tightly locked with one rotation for each orbit. The Moon is still moving away from us at four centimeters per year.
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-. The Moon has been essential for life's evolution on Earth. The ocean tides have provided a dynamic environment of circulating ocean water and atmosphere. It's orbit has stabilized Earth’s orbit with a 23 degree tilt , perfect for four seasons and a dynamic environment to evolve life's diversity.
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-. Life has a wide diversity on Earth. The diversity of moons offer life elsewhere in our solar system. Over 1,700 exoplanets have been discovered in other solar systems outside our own. Those planets also have moons. This greatly expands the chances for life elsewhere. An announcement will be made shortly, stay tuned.
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(1)---------- Mercury ---- 0 moons
------------- Venus ----- 0 moons
------------- Earth ------- 1 moon
------------- Mars ------- 2 moons
------------- Jupiter ---- 67 moons
------------- Saturn ---- 62 moons
------------- Uranus ---- 27 moons
------------- Neptune --- 14 moons
------------- Asteroids -- 170 with moons
------------- Kuiper Belt Objects ---- 85 includes Pluto
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RSVP, with comments, suggestions, corrections. Index of reviews available ---
--- Some reviews are at: -------------------- http://jdetrick.blogspot.com -----
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---- www.twitter.com , --- 707-536-3272 ---- Friday, May 16, 2014 ---
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