NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured this image of Enceladus on November 30, 2010. The shadow of the body of Enceladus on the lower portions of the jets is clearly visible. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
A worlds outside our solar system) could have oceans of liquid water, an essential ingredient for life, beneath icy shells. Water from these oceans could occasionally erupt through the ice crust as geysers. The science team calculated the amount of geyser activity on these exoplanets, the first time these estimates have been made. They identified two exoplanets sufficiently close where signs of these eruptions could be observed with telescopes.
The Habitability of Distant Exoplanets
The search for life elsewhere in the Universe typically focuses on exoplanets that are in a star’s “habitable zone,” a distance where temperatures allow liquid water to persist on their surfaces. However, it’s possible for an DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ace9b6
The research was funded by NASA’s Habitable Worlds Program, the