Jump to content

Habitability of natural satellites: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
←Replaced content with 'hi'
Tag: blanking
No edit summary
Line 1: Line 1:
[[Image:Europa-moon.jpg|thumb|[[Europa (moon)|Europa]], a potentially [[Planetary habitability|habitable]] moon of [[Jupiter]]]]
hi

The '''[[Planetary habitability|habitability]] of natural satellites''' is a measure of the potential of [[natural satellite]]s to have environments hospitable to [[life]].<ref name="NASA-20150407">{{cite web |last1=Dyches |first1=Preston |last2=Chou |first2=Felcia |title=The Solar System and Beyond is Awash in Water |url=http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/the-solar-system-and-beyond-is-awash-in-water/ |date=7 April 2015 |work=[[NASA]] |accessdate=8 April 2015 }}</ref> Habitable environments do not necessarily harbor life. Planetary habitability is an emerging study which is considered important to [[astrobiology]] for several reasons, foremost being that natural satellites are predicted to greatly outnumber planets and that it is hypothesized that habitability factors are likely to be similar to [[planetary habitability|those of planets]].<ref name='Shriber 2009-10-26'>{{cite web |last=Shriber |first=Michael |title=Detecting Life-Friendly Moons |url=http://www.astrobio.net/exclusive/3291/detecting-life-friendly-moons |date=26 Oct 2009 |work=Astrobiology Magazine |accessdate=9 May 2013 }}</ref><ref name="WRD-20150127">{{cite web |last=Woo |first=Marcus |title=Why We’re Looking for Alien Life on Moons, Not Just Planets |url=http://www.wired.com/2015/01/looking-alien-life-moons-just-planets/ |date=27 January 2015 |work=[[Wired (website)|Wired]] |accessdate=27 January 2015 }}</ref> There are, however, key environmental differences which have a bearing on moons as potential sites for [[extraterrestrial life]].

The strongest candidates for natural satellite habitability are currently icy satellites<ref name="CastilloVance2008">{{cite journal|last1=Castillo|first1=Julie|last2=Vance|first2=Steve|title=Session 13. The Deep Cold Biosphere? Interior Processes of Icy Satellites and Dwarf Planets|journal=Astrobiology|volume=8|issue=2|year=2008|pages=344–346|issn=1531-1074|doi=10.1089/ast.2008.1237|bibcode = 2008AsBio...8..344C }}</ref> such as those of [[Jupiter]] and [[Saturn]]—[[Europa (moon)|Europa]]<ref name="Greenberg2011">{{cite journal|last1=Greenberg|first1=Richard|title=Exploration and Protection of Europa's Biosphere: Implications of Permeable Ice|journal=Astrobiology|volume=11|issue=2|year=2011|pages=183–191|issn=1531-1074|doi=10.1089/ast.2011.0608|bibcode = 2011AsBio..11..183G }}</ref> and [[Enceladus]]<ref name="ParkinsonLiang2008">{{cite journal|last1=Parkinson|first1=Christopher D.|last2=Liang|first2=Mao-Chang|last3=Yung|first3=Yuk L.|last4=Kirschivnk|first4=Joseph L.|title=Habitability of Enceladus: Planetary Conditions for Life|journal=Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres|volume=38|issue=4|year=2008|pages=355–369|issn=0169-6149|doi=10.1007/s11084-008-9135-4|bibcode = 2008OLEB...38..355P }}</ref> respectively, although if life exists in either place, it would probably be confined to subsurface habitats. Historically, life on Earth was thought to be strictly a surface phenomenon, but recent studies have shown that up to half of Earth's biomass could live below the surface.<ref>Boyd, Robert S.; [http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/03/08/90020/buried-alive-half-of-earths-life.html Buried alive: Half of Earth's life may lie below land, sea]. McClatchy DC. 2014-04-24. Accessed: 2014-04-24. (Archived at http://www.webcitation.org/6P5GIqXem)</ref> Europa and Enceladus exist outside the [[circumstellar habitable zone]] which has historically defined the limits of life within the Solar System as the zone in which water can exist as liquid at the surface. In the Solar System's habitable zone there are only three natural satellites—the [[Moon]], and Mars's moons [[Phobos (moon)|Phobos]] and [[Deimos (moon)|Deimos]] (although some estimates show Mars and its moons to be slightly outside the habitable zone)<ref>University of Arizona; NASA; NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. [http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/mars141.php#1 Phoenix Mars Mission – Habitability and Biology]. University of Arizona. 2014-04-24. Accessed: 2014-04-24. (Archived at http://www.webcitation.org/6P58Tsw9q)</ref> —none of which sustain an atmosphere or water in liquid form. [[Tidal forces]] are likely to play as significant a role providing heat as [[Radiant flux|stellar radiation]] in the potential habitability of natural satellites.<ref name="Cowen2008">{{cite news |first=Ron |last=Cowen |title=A Shifty Moon |url=http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/32135/title/A_shifty_moon |work=Science News |date=2008-06-07 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090624-enceladus-ocean.html |title=Ocean Hidden Inside Saturn's Moon |work=Space.com |date=24 June 2009 |author=Bryner, Jeanna |accessdate=22 April 2013 |agency=TechMediaNetwork}}</ref>

[[Exomoon]]s are not yet confirmed to exist. Detecting them is extremely difficult, because current methods are limited to transit timing.<ref name="KippingFossey2009">{{cite journal| last1=Kipping| first1=David M.| last2=Fossey| first2=Stephen J.| last3=Campanella| first3=Giammarco| title=On the detectability of habitable exomoons withKepler-class photometry| journal=[[Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society]]| volume=400| issue=1| year=2009| pages=398–405| issn=0035-8711| doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.15472.x| arxiv = 0907.3909 |bibcode = 2009MNRAS.400..398K }}</ref> It is possible that some of their attributes could be determined by similar methods as those of transiting planets.<ref name="Kaltenegger2010">{{cite journal| last1=Kaltenegger| first1=L.| title=Characterizing Habitable Exomoons |journal=The Astrophysical Journal| volume=712| issue=2| year=2010| pages=L125–L130| issn=2041-8205| doi=10.1088/2041-8205/712/2/L125| arxiv = 0912.3484 |bibcode = 2010ApJ...712L.125K }}</ref> Despite this, some scientists estimate that there are as many habitable exomoons as habitable exoplanets.<ref name='Shriber 2009-10-26' />

==Presumed conditions==
The conditions of habitability for natural satellites are similar to those of [[planetary habitability]]. However, there are several factors which differentiate natural satellite habitability and additionally extend their habitability outside the planetary habitable zone.<ref>Scharf, Caleb [http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/life-unbounded/2011/10/04/exomoons-ever-closer/ Exomoons Ever Closer]. ''Scientific American''. October 4, 2011</ref>

===Liquid water===
{{main|Extraterrestrial liquid water}}
Liquid water is thought by most astrobiologists as an essential prerequisite for extraterrestrial life. There is growing evidence of subsurface liquid water on several moons in the Solar System orbiting the gas giants Jupiter, Saturn, [[Uranus]], and [[Neptune]]. However, none of these subsurface bodies of water has been confirmed to date.

===Orbital stability===
For a stable orbit the ratio between the moon's [[orbital period]] ''P''<sub>s</sub> around its primary and that of the primary around its star ''P''<sub>p</sub> must be &lt; 1/9, e.g. if a planet takes 90 days to orbit its star, the maximum stable orbit for a moon of that planet is less than 10 days.<ref name=Kipping_2009a>{{cite journal| last=Kipping| first=David| title=Transit timing effects due to an exomoon| journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society| year=2009| volume=392| pages=181–189| doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13999.x| url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009MNRAS.392..181K| accessdate=22 February 2012| bibcode = 2009MNRAS.392..181K |arxiv = 0810.2243}}</ref><ref name="Heller2012">{{cite journal| last1=Heller| first1=R.| title=Exomoon habitability constrained by energy flux and orbital stability| journal=Astronomy & Astrophysics| volume=545| year=2012| pages=L8| issn=0004-6361| doi=10.1051/0004-6361/201220003| arxiv = 1209.0050 |bibcode = 2012A&A...545L...8H }}</ref> Simulations suggest that a moon with an orbital period less than about 45 to 60 days will remain safely bound to a massive giant planet or [[brown dwarf]] that orbits 1 [[Astronomical unit|AU]] from a Sun-like star.<ref name="skyandtelescope">{{cite web| url=http://www.skyandtelescope.com/resources/seti/3304591.html?showAll=y&c=y| publisher= SkyandTelescope.com| title=Habitable Moons:What does it take for a moon — or any world — to support life?| author=Andrew J. LePage| accessdate=2011-07-11}}</ref>

===Atmosphere===
An atmosphere is considered by astrobiologists to be important in developing [[Abiogenesis|prebiotic chemistry]], sustaining life and for surface water to exist. Most natural satellites in the Solar System lack significant atmospheres, the sole exception being Saturn's moon, [[Titan (moon)|Titan]].

[[Sputtering]], a process whereby atoms are ejected from a solid target material due to bombardment of the target by energetic particles, presents a significant problem for natural satellites. All the gas giants in the Solar System, and likely those orbiting other stars, have [[magnetosphere]]s with radiation belts potent enough to completely erode an atmosphere of an Earth-like moon in just a few hundred million years. Strong stellar winds can also strip gas atoms from the top of an atmosphere causing them to be lost to space.

To support an Earth-like atmosphere for about 4.6 billion years (Earth's current age), a moon with a Mars-like density is estimated to need at least 7% of Earth's mass.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.xs4all.nl/~carlkop/habit.html|title=In Search Of Habitable Moons| publisher=Pennsylvania State University| accessdate=2011-07-11}}</ref> One way to decrease loss from sputtering is for the moon to have a strong [[magnetic field]] that can deflect [[stellar wind]] and radiation belts. NASA's [[Galileo (spacecraft)|Galileo's]] measurements hints large moons can have magnetic fields; it found [[Ganymede (moon)|Ganymede]] has its own magnetosphere, even though its mass is only 2.5% of Earth's.<ref name="skyandtelescope"/> An exception is if the moon's atmosphere is constantly replenished by gases from subsurface sources —as thought by some scientists to be the case with Titan.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}}

===Tidal effects===
While the effects of [[tidal acceleration]] are relatively modest on planets, it can be a significant source of energy for natural satellites and an alternative energy source for sustaining life.

Moons orbiting [[gas giant]]s or [[brown dwarf]]s are likely to be [[tidally locked]] to their primary: that is, their days are as long as their orbits. While tidal locking may adversely affect planets within habitable zones by interfering with the distribution of stellar radiation, it may work in favour of satellite habitability by allowing [[tidal heating]]. Scientists at the NASA [[Ames Research Center]] modelled the temperature on tide-locked exoplanets in the [[habitability zone]] of [[red dwarf]] stars. They found that an atmosphere with a carbon dioxide ({{chem|C|O|2}}) pressure of only {{convert|1-1.5|atm|psi}} not only allows habitable temperatures, but allows liquid water on the dark side of the satellite. The temperature range of a moon that is tidally locked to a gas giant could be less extreme than with a planet locked to a star. Even though no studies have been done on the subject, modest amounts of {{chem|C|O|2}} are speculated to make the temperature habitable.<ref name="skyandtelescope"/>

Tidal effects could also allow a moon to sustain [[plate tectonics]], which would cause volcanic activity to regulate the moon's temperature<ref name=volcanoes-climate>{{cite web| last=Glatzmaier| first=Gary A.| title=How Volcanoes Work – Volcano Climate Effects| url=http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/climate_effects.html |accessdate=29 February 2012}}</ref><ref name=nasa-io>{{cite web| title=Solar System Exploration: Io| url=http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Io| work=Solar System Exploration| publisher=NASA| accessdate=29 February 2012}}</ref> and create a [[Dynamo theory|geodynamo effect]] which would give the satellite a strong [[magnetic field]].<ref name=hyperphysics-geodynamo>{{cite web| last=Nave| first=R.| title=Magnetic Field of the Earth| url=http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/magnetic/magearth.html| accessdate=29 February 2012}}</ref>

====Axial tilt and climate====
Provided gravitational interaction of a moon with other satellites can be neglected, moons tend to be tidally locked with their planets. In addition to the rotational locking mentioned above, there will also be a process termed 'tilt erosion', which has originally been coined for the tidal erosion of planetary obliquity against a planet's orbit around its host star.<ref name=Heller_2011>{{cite journal| last=Heller| first=René| author2=Barnes, Rory |author3=Leconte, Jérémy |title=Tidal obliquity evolution of potentially habitable planets| journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics| date=April 2011| volume=528| pages=A27| doi=10.1051/0004-6361/201015809| url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011A&A...528A..27H| bibcode = 2011A&A...528A..27H |arxiv = 1101.2156 }}</ref> The final spin state of a moon then consists of a rotational period equal to its orbital period around the planet and a rotational axis that is perpendicular to the orbital plane.

If the moon's mass is not too low compared to the planet, it may in turn stabilize the planet's [[axial tilt]], i.e. its obliquity against the orbit around the star. On Earth, the [[Moon]] has played an important role in stabilizing the axial tilt of the Earth, thereby reducing the impact of gravitational perturbations from the other planets and ensuring only moderate climate variations throughout the planet.<ref name=earthmoonaxialtilt>{{cite web| last=Henney| first=Paul| title=How Earth and the Moon interact| url=http://www.astronomytoday.com/astronomy/earthmoon.html| work=Astronomy Today| accessdate=25 December 2011}}</ref> On [[Mars]], however, a planet without significant tidal effects from its relatively low-mass moons [[Phobos (moon)|Phobos]] and [[Deimos (moon)|Deimos]], axial tilt can undergo extreme changes from 13° to 40° on timescales of {{Nowrap|5}} to {{Nowrap|10 million years}}.<ref name=mars101axialtilt>{{cite web| title=Mars 101 – Overview| url=http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/mars102.php| work=Mars 101| publisher=NASA| accessdate=25 December 2011}}</ref><ref name=Armstrong>{{cite journal| last=Armstrong| first=John C.| author2=Leovy, Conway B. |author3=Quinn, Thomas |title=A 1 Gyr climate model for Mars: new orbital statistics and the importance of seasonally resolved polar processes| journal=Icarus| date=October 2004| volume=171| pages=255–271| doi=10.1016/j.icarus.2004.05.007| url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004Icar..171..255A| accessdate=22 February 2012| bibcode = 2004Icar..171..255A }}</ref>

Being tidally locked to a giant planet or [[sub-brown dwarf]] would allow for more moderate climates on a moon than there would be if the moon were a similar-sized planet orbiting in locked rotation in the habitable zone of the star.<ref name=space-dot-com-exomoons>{{cite news| last=Choi| first=Charles Q.| title=Moons Like Avatar's Pandora Could Be Found| url=http://www.space.com/7709-moons-avatar-pandora.html| accessdate=16 January 2012| newspaper=Space.com| date=27 December 2009}}</ref> This is especially true of [[red dwarf]] systems, where comparatively high gravitational forces and low luminosities leave the habitable zone in an area where tidal locking would occur. If tidally locked, one rotation about the axis may take a long time relative to a planet (for example, ignoring the slight axial tilt of Earth's moon and topographical shadowing, any given point on it has two weeks – in Earth time – of sunshine and two weeks of night in its lunar day) but these long periods of light and darkness are not as challenging for habitability as the eternal days and eternal nights on a planet tidally locked to its star.

==In the Solar System==
The following is a list of natural satellites and environments in the Solar System with a possibility of hosting habitable environments:

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="2" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
|-
!| Name || System || Article || Notes
|-
| [[Europa (moon)|Europa]] || Jupiter || [[Life on Europa]] || Thought to have a subsurface ocean maintained by geologic activity, tidal heating, and irradiation.<ref name=Greenberg_1999>{{cite journal| last=Greenberg| first=R.| author2=Hoppa, G. V. |author3=Tufts, B. R. |author4=Geissler, P. |author5=Riley, J. |author6= Kadel, S. |title=Chaos on Europa| journal=Icarus| date=October 1999| volume=141| pages=263–286| doi=10.1006/icar.1999.6187| url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1999Icar..141..263G| bibcode = 1999Icar..141..263G }}</ref><ref name=Schmidt_2011>{{cite journal| last=Schmidt|first=B. E.|author2=Blankenship, D. D. |author3=Patterson, G. W. |title=Active formation of 'chaos terrain' over shallow subsurface water on Europa| journal=Nature| date=November 2011| volume=479| pages=502–505| doi=10.1038/nature10608| url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011Natur.479..502S| bibcode = 2011Natur.479..502S| pmid=22089135}}</ref> The moon may have more water and oxygen than Earth and a thin oxygen atmosphere.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33226921/ns/technology_and_science-space/| title=Moon of Jupiter could support life: Europa has a liquid ocean that lies beneath several miles of ice| publisher=msnbc.com| accessdate=2011-07-10}}</ref>
|-
| [[Enceladus]] || Saturn || [[Enceladus (moon)#Potential habitability|Enceladus – potential habitability]] || Thought to have a subsurface liquid water ocean due to geothermal activity.<ref>{{cite web| title=Liquid water on Saturn moon could support life: Cassini spacecraft sees signs of geysers on icy Enceladus| url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11736311/ns/technology_and_science-space/| publisher=msnbc.com| accessdate=2011-07-10}}</ref>
|-
| [[Titan (moon)|Titan]] || Saturn || [[Life on Titan]] || Its atmosphere is considered similar to that of the early Earth, although somewhat thicker. The surface is characterized by hydrocarbon lakes, [[cryovolcano]]s, and methane rain and snow. It has a remote possibility of an exotic [[Hypothetical types of biochemistry#Methane and other hydrocarbons|methane-based biochemistry]].<ref>{{cite web| title=Life On Titan? New Clues to What's Consuming Hydrogen, Acetylene On Saturn's Moon| url=http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100606103125.htm| publisher=Science Daily| date=2010-06-07| accessdate=2011-07-10}}</ref>
|-
| [[Callisto (moon)|Callisto]] || Jupiter || [[Callisto (moon)#Potential habitability|Callisto – potential habitability]] || Thought to have a subsurface ocean heated by tidal forces.<ref name=Phillips>{{cite web| last=Phillips| first=T.| url=http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/ast22oct98_2.htm| title=Callisto makes a big splash| publisher=Science@NASA| date=1998-10-23}}</ref><ref name=Lipps2004>{{cite journal| last=Lipps| first=Jere H.| author2=Delory, Gregory |author3=Pitman, Joe |title=Astrobiology of Jupiter's Icy Moons| journal=Proc. SPIE| year=2004| volume=5555| page=10| doi=10.1117/12.560356| url=http://learning.berkeley.edu/astrobiology/2004ppt/jupiter.pdf| format=PDF| series=Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology VIII| display-authors=etal}}</ref>
|-
| [[Ganymede (moon)|Ganymede]] || Jupiter || [[Ganymede (moon)#Subsurface oceans|Ganymede – Subsurface oceans]] || Thought to have ice and oceans stacked up in several layers, with salty water as first layer on top of the rocky core.<ref name=vance2014article>{{cite web| url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2014-138| title=Ganymede May Harbor 'Club Sandwich' of Oceans and Ice| publisher=JPL@NASA| date=2014-05-04}}</ref><ref name=vance2014>{{cite journal| last=Vance| first=Steve |title=Astrobiology of Jupiter's Icy Moons| journal=Planetary and Space Science| year=2014| volume=96| page=62| doi=10.1016/j.pss.2014.03.011| url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032063314000695| series=Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology VIII| display-authors=etal|bibcode = 2014P&SS...96...62V }}</ref>
|-
| [[Io (moon)|Io]] || Jupiter || || Due to its proximity to Jupiter, it is subject to intense tidal heating which makes it the most volcanically active object in the [[Solar System]]. The [[outgassing]] generates a trace atmosphere.<ref>{{cite web| title=Chance For Life On Io| author=Charles Q. Choi| url=http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Chance_For_Life_On_Io_999.html| publisher=Science Daily| date=2010-06-07| accessdate=2011-07-10}}</ref>
|-
| [[Triton (moon)|Triton]] || Neptune || || Its high orbital inclination with respect to Neptune's equator drives significant tidal heating,{{citation needed|date=May 2015}} which suggests a layer of liquid water or a subsurface ocean.<ref>{{cite journal| title=Assessing the Plausibility of Life on Other Worlds| author1= Louis Neal Irwin| author2=Dirk Schulze-Makuch| journal=Astrobiology| volume=1| issue=2| pages=143–60| date=June 2001| doi=10.1089/153110701753198918| pmid=12467118| bibcode=2001AsBio...1..143I}}</ref>
|-
| [[Charon (moon)|Charon]] || Pluto || || Possible internal ocean of water and ammonia, based on suspected cryovolcanic activity.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/science/water-on-pluto-sparks-hopes-of-marine-life/2007/07/19/1184559914231.html | work=The Sydney Morning Herald | title=Water on Pluto moon | date=2007-07-19}}</ref>
|}

==Extrasolar==
{{further|Exomoon}}
{{Category see also|Giant planets in the habitable zone}}
[[Image:The Blue Moon.png|thumb|right|Artist's impression of a hypothetical [[extrasolar moon|moon]] around a Saturn-like [[exoplanet]] that could be habitable.]]

No extrasolar natural satellites have yet been detected. Large planets in the Solar System like Jupiter and Saturn are known to have large moons with some of the conditions for life. Therefore, some scientists speculate that large extrasolar planets (and [[double planet]]s) may have similarly large moons that are potentially habitable.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2987926/Alien-moons-likely-host-life-Earth-like-planets-claims-scientist.html| title=Alien moons could be more likely to host life than Earth-like planets, claims scientist |publisher=Daily Mail| language=English| author=Jonathan O'Callaghan| date=10 March 2015| accessdate=8 April 2016}}</ref> A moon with sufficient mass may support an atmosphere like Titan and may also sustain liquid water on the surface.

Massive exoplanets known to be located within a habitable zone (such as [[Gliese 876 b]], [[55 Cancri f]], [[Upsilon Andromedae d]], [[47 Ursae Majoris b]], [[HD 28185 b]] and [[HD 37124 c]]) are of particular interest as they may potentially possess natural satellites with liquid water on the surface.

Habitability of extrasolar moons will depend on stellar and planetary illumination on moons as well as the effect of eclipses on their orbit-averaged surface illumination.<ref name="Heller 2012">{{cite journal| last=Heller| first=René| author2=Rory Barnes| title=Exomoon habitability constrained by illumination and tidal heating| journal=Astrobiology| year=2012| arxiv=1209.5323| doi=10.1089/ast.2012.0859| volume=13| pages=18–46}}</ref> Beyond that, tidal heating might play a role for a moon's habitability. In 2012, scientists introduced a concept to define the habitable orbits of moons;<ref name="Heller 2012"/> they define an inner border of an habitable moon around a certain planet and call it the circumplanetary "habitable edge". Moons closer to their planet than the habitable edge are uninhabitable. When effects of eclipses as well as constraints from a satellite's orbital stability are included into this concept, it is estimated that — depending on a moon's orbital eccentricity — there is a minimum mass of roughly 0.2 solar masses for stars to host habitable moons within the stellar habitable zone.<ref name="Heller2012"/> The magnetic environment of exomoons, which is critically triggered by the intrinsic magnetic field of the host planet, has been identified as another factor of exomoon habitability.<ref name='Heller2013'>{{cite journal| last=Heller| first=René| title=Magnetic shielding of exomoons beyond the circumplanetary habitable edge| journal=The Astrophysical Journal Letters |date=September 2013| url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013arXiv1309.0811H| arxiv = 1309.0811 |bibcode = 2013ApJ...776L..33H| doi=10.1088/2041-8205/776/2/L33| volume=776| pages=L33}}</ref> Most notably, it was found that moons at distances between about 5 and 20 planetary radii from a giant planet could be habitable from an illumination and tidal heating point of view,<ref name='Heller2013'/> but still the planetary magnetosphere would critically influence their habitability.<ref name='Heller2013'/>

==Popular culture==
Inhabited natural satellites are common in science fiction. One prominent example is the fictional moon Pandora in the popular 2009 film [[Avatar (2009 film)|Avatar]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/jan/13/is-life-on-alien-moons|title=Is there life on moons?|publisher=Guardian|language=English|author=Robin McKie|date=13 January 2013|accessdate=15 January 2017}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Earth analog]]
* [[List of potentially habitable moons]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{Exoplanet}}
{{Astrobiology}}
{{Extraterrestrial life}}

[[Category:Planetary habitability|Natural satellites]]
[[Category:Moons]]

Revision as of 15:46, 19 January 2017

Europa, a potentially habitable moon of Jupiter

The habitability of natural satellites is a measure of the potential of natural satellites to have environments hospitable to life.[1] Habitable environments do not necessarily harbor life. Planetary habitability is an emerging study which is considered important to astrobiology for several reasons, foremost being that natural satellites are predicted to greatly outnumber planets and that it is hypothesized that habitability factors are likely to be similar to those of planets.[2][3] There are, however, key environmental differences which have a bearing on moons as potential sites for extraterrestrial life.

The strongest candidates for natural satellite habitability are currently icy satellites[4] such as those of Jupiter and Saturn—Europa[5] and Enceladus[6] respectively, although if life exists in either place, it would probably be confined to subsurface habitats. Historically, life on Earth was thought to be strictly a surface phenomenon, but recent studies have shown that up to half of Earth's biomass could live below the surface.[7] Europa and Enceladus exist outside the circumstellar habitable zone which has historically defined the limits of life within the Solar System as the zone in which water can exist as liquid at the surface. In the Solar System's habitable zone there are only three natural satellites—the Moon, and Mars's moons Phobos and Deimos (although some estimates show Mars and its moons to be slightly outside the habitable zone)[8] —none of which sustain an atmosphere or water in liquid form. Tidal forces are likely to play as significant a role providing heat as stellar radiation in the potential habitability of natural satellites.[9][10]

Exomoons are not yet confirmed to exist. Detecting them is extremely difficult, because current methods are limited to transit timing.[11] It is possible that some of their attributes could be determined by similar methods as those of transiting planets.[12] Despite this, some scientists estimate that there are as many habitable exomoons as habitable exoplanets.[2]

Presumed conditions

The conditions of habitability for natural satellites are similar to those of planetary habitability. However, there are several factors which differentiate natural satellite habitability and additionally extend their habitability outside the planetary habitable zone.[13]

Liquid water

Main article: Extraterrestrial liquid water

Liquid water is thought by most astrobiologists as an essential prerequisite for extraterrestrial life. There is growing evidence of subsurface liquid water on several moons in the Solar System orbiting the gas giants Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. However, none of these subsurface bodies of water has been confirmed to date.

Orbital stability

For a stable orbit the ratio between the moon's orbital period Ps around its primary and that of the primary around its star Pp must be < 1/9, e.g. if a planet takes 90 days to orbit its star, the maximum stable orbit for a moon of that planet is less than 10 days.[14][15] Simulations suggest that a moon with an orbital period less than about 45 to 60 days will remain safely bound to a massive giant planet or brown dwarf that orbits 1 AU from a Sun-like star.[16]

Atmosphere

An atmosphere is considered by astrobiologists to be important in developing prebiotic chemistry, sustaining life and for surface water to exist. Most natural satellites in the Solar System lack significant atmospheres, the sole exception being Saturn's moon, Titan.

Sputtering, a process whereby atoms are ejected from a solid target material due to bombardment of the target by energetic particles, presents a significant problem for natural satellites. All the gas giants in the Solar System, and likely those orbiting other stars, have magnetospheres with radiation belts potent enough to completely erode an atmosphere of an Earth-like moon in just a few hundred million years. Strong stellar winds can also strip gas atoms from the top of an atmosphere causing them to be lost to space.

To support an Earth-like atmosphere for about 4.6 billion years (Earth's current age), a moon with a Mars-like density is estimated to need at least 7% of Earth's mass.[17] One way to decrease loss from sputtering is for the moon to have a strong magnetic field that can deflect stellar wind and radiation belts. NASA's Galileo's measurements hints large moons can have magnetic fields; it found Ganymede has its own magnetosphere, even though its mass is only 2.5% of Earth's.[16] An exception is if the moon's atmosphere is constantly replenished by gases from subsurface sources —as thought by some scientists to be the case with Titan.[citation needed]

Tidal effects

While the effects of tidal acceleration are relatively modest on planets, it can be a significant source of energy for natural satellites and an alternative energy source for sustaining life.

Moons orbiting gas giants or brown dwarfs are likely to be tidally locked to their primary: that is, their days are as long as their orbits. While tidal locking may adversely affect planets within habitable zones by interfering with the distribution of stellar radiation, it may work in favour of satellite habitability by allowing tidal heating. Scientists at the NASA Ames Research Center modelled the temperature on tide-locked exoplanets in the habitability zone of red dwarf stars. They found that an atmosphere with a carbon dioxide (CO
2) pressure of only 1–1.5 standard atmospheres (15–22 psi) not only allows habitable temperatures, but allows liquid water on the dark side of the satellite. The temperature range of a moon that is tidally locked to a gas giant could be less extreme than with a planet locked to a star. Even though no studies have been done on the subject, modest amounts of CO
2 are speculated to make the temperature habitable.[16]

Tidal effects could also allow a moon to sustain plate tectonics, which would cause volcanic activity to regulate the moon's temperature[18][19] and create a geodynamo effect which would give the satellite a strong magnetic field.[20]

Axial tilt and climate

Provided gravitational interaction of a moon with other satellites can be neglected, moons tend to be tidally locked with their planets. In addition to the rotational locking mentioned above, there will also be a process termed 'tilt erosion', which has originally been coined for the tidal erosion of planetary obliquity against a planet's orbit around its host star.[21] The final spin state of a moon then consists of a rotational period equal to its orbital period around the planet and a rotational axis that is perpendicular to the orbital plane.

If the moon's mass is not too low compared to the planet, it may in turn stabilize the planet's axial tilt, i.e. its obliquity against the orbit around the star. On Earth, the Moon has played an important role in stabilizing the axial tilt of the Earth, thereby reducing the impact of gravitational perturbations from the other planets and ensuring only moderate climate variations throughout the planet.[22] On Mars, however, a planet without significant tidal effects from its relatively low-mass moons Phobos and Deimos, axial tilt can undergo extreme changes from 13° to 40° on timescales of 5 to 10 million years.[23][24]

Being tidally locked to a giant planet or sub-brown dwarf would allow for more moderate climates on a moon than there would be if the moon were a similar-sized planet orbiting in locked rotation in the habitable zone of the star.[25] This is especially true of red dwarf systems, where comparatively high gravitational forces and low luminosities leave the habitable zone in an area where tidal locking would occur. If tidally locked, one rotation about the axis may take a long time relative to a planet (for example, ignoring the slight axial tilt of Earth's moon and topographical shadowing, any given point on it has two weeks – in Earth time – of sunshine and two weeks of night in its lunar day) but these long periods of light and darkness are not as challenging for habitability as the eternal days and eternal nights on a planet tidally locked to its star.

In the Solar System

The following is a list of natural satellites and environments in the Solar System with a possibility of hosting habitable environments:

Name System Article Notes
Europa Jupiter Life on Europa Thought to have a subsurface ocean maintained by geologic activity, tidal heating, and irradiation.[26][27] The moon may have more water and oxygen than Earth and a thin oxygen atmosphere.[28]
Enceladus Saturn Enceladus – potential habitability Thought to have a subsurface liquid water ocean due to geothermal activity.[29]
Titan Saturn Life on Titan Its atmosphere is considered similar to that of the early Earth, although somewhat thicker. The surface is characterized by hydrocarbon lakes, cryovolcanos, and methane rain and snow. It has a remote possibility of an exotic methane-based biochemistry.[30]
Callisto Jupiter Callisto – potential habitability Thought to have a subsurface ocean heated by tidal forces.[31][32]
Ganymede Jupiter Ganymede – Subsurface oceans Thought to have ice and oceans stacked up in several layers, with salty water as first layer on top of the rocky core.[33][34]
Io Jupiter Due to its proximity to Jupiter, it is subject to intense tidal heating which makes it the most volcanically active object in the Solar System. The outgassing generates a trace atmosphere.[35]
Triton Neptune Its high orbital inclination with respect to Neptune's equator drives significant tidal heating,[citation needed] which suggests a layer of liquid water or a subsurface ocean.[36]
Charon Pluto Possible internal ocean of water and ammonia, based on suspected cryovolcanic activity.[37]

Extrasolar

Further information: Exomoon
See also: Category:Giant planets in the habitable zone
Artist's impression of a hypothetical moon around a Saturn-like exoplanet that could be habitable.

No extrasolar natural satellites have yet been detected. Large planets in the Solar System like Jupiter and Saturn are known to have large moons with some of the conditions for life. Therefore, some scientists speculate that large extrasolar planets (and double planets) may have similarly large moons that are potentially habitable.[38] A moon with sufficient mass may support an atmosphere like Titan and may also sustain liquid water on the surface.

Massive exoplanets known to be located within a habitable zone (such as Gliese 876 b, 55 Cancri f, Upsilon Andromedae d, 47 Ursae Majoris b, HD 28185 b and HD 37124 c) are of particular interest as they may potentially possess natural satellites with liquid water on the surface.

Habitability of extrasolar moons will depend on stellar and planetary illumination on moons as well as the effect of eclipses on their orbit-averaged surface illumination.[39] Beyond that, tidal heating might play a role for a moon's habitability. In 2012, scientists introduced a concept to define the habitable orbits of moons;[39] they define an inner border of an habitable moon around a certain planet and call it the circumplanetary "habitable edge". Moons closer to their planet than the habitable edge are uninhabitable. When effects of eclipses as well as constraints from a satellite's orbital stability are included into this concept, it is estimated that — depending on a moon's orbital eccentricity — there is a minimum mass of roughly 0.2 solar masses for stars to host habitable moons within the stellar habitable zone.[15] The magnetic environment of exomoons, which is critically triggered by the intrinsic magnetic field of the host planet, has been identified as another factor of exomoon habitability.[40] Most notably, it was found that moons at distances between about 5 and 20 planetary radii from a giant planet could be habitable from an illumination and tidal heating point of view,[40] but still the planetary magnetosphere would critically influence their habitability.[40]

Inhabited natural satellites are common in science fiction. One prominent example is the fictional moon Pandora in the popular 2009 film Avatar.[41]

See also

References

  1. ^ Dyches, Preston; Chou, Felcia (7 April 2015). "The Solar System and Beyond is Awash in Water". NASA. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  2. ^ a b Shriber, Michael (26 Oct 2009). "Detecting Life-Friendly Moons". Astrobiology Magazine. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  3. ^ Woo, Marcus (27 January 2015). "Why We're Looking for Alien Life on Moons, Not Just Planets". Wired. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  4. ^ Castillo, Julie; Vance, Steve (2008). "Session 13. The Deep Cold Biosphere? Interior Processes of Icy Satellites and Dwarf Planets". Astrobiology. 8 (2): 344–346. Bibcode:2008AsBio...8..344C. doi:10.1089/ast.2008.1237. ISSN 1531-1074.
  5. ^ Greenberg, Richard (2011). "Exploration and Protection of Europa's Biosphere: Implications of Permeable Ice". Astrobiology. 11 (2): 183–191. Bibcode:2011AsBio..11..183G. doi:10.1089/ast.2011.0608. ISSN 1531-1074.
  6. ^ Parkinson, Christopher D.; Liang, Mao-Chang; Yung, Yuk L.; Kirschivnk, Joseph L. (2008). "Habitability of Enceladus: Planetary Conditions for Life". Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres. 38 (4): 355–369. Bibcode:2008OLEB...38..355P. doi:10.1007/s11084-008-9135-4. ISSN 0169-6149.
  7. ^ Boyd, Robert S.; Buried alive: Half of Earth's life may lie below land, sea. McClatchy DC. 2014-04-24. Accessed: 2014-04-24. (Archived at http://www.webcitation.org/6P5GIqXem)
  8. ^ University of Arizona; NASA; NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Phoenix Mars Mission – Habitability and Biology. University of Arizona. 2014-04-24. Accessed: 2014-04-24. (Archived at http://www.webcitation.org/6P58Tsw9q)
  9. ^ Cowen, Ron (2008-06-07). "A Shifty Moon". Science News.
  10. ^ Bryner, Jeanna (24 June 2009). "Ocean Hidden Inside Saturn's Moon". Space.com. TechMediaNetwork. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  11. ^ Kipping, David M.; Fossey, Stephen J.; Campanella, Giammarco (2009). "On the detectability of habitable exomoons withKepler-class photometry". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 400 (1): 398–405. arXiv:0907.3909. Bibcode:2009MNRAS.400..398K. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.15472.x. ISSN 0035-8711.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  12. ^ Kaltenegger, L. (2010). "Characterizing Habitable Exomoons". The Astrophysical Journal. 712 (2): L125–L130. arXiv:0912.3484. Bibcode:2010ApJ...712L.125K. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/712/2/L125. ISSN 2041-8205.
  13. ^ Scharf, Caleb Exomoons Ever Closer. Scientific American. October 4, 2011
  14. ^ Kipping, David (2009). "Transit timing effects due to an exomoon". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 392: 181–189. arXiv:0810.2243. Bibcode:2009MNRAS.392..181K. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13999.x. Retrieved 22 February 2012.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  15. ^ a b Heller, R. (2012). "Exomoon habitability constrained by energy flux and orbital stability". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 545: L8. arXiv:1209.0050. Bibcode:2012A&A...545L...8H. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201220003. ISSN 0004-6361.
  16. ^ a b c Andrew J. LePage. "Habitable Moons:What does it take for a moon — or any world — to support life?". SkyandTelescope.com. Retrieved 2011-07-11.
  17. ^ "In Search Of Habitable Moons". Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved 2011-07-11.
  18. ^ Glatzmaier, Gary A. "How Volcanoes Work – Volcano Climate Effects". Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  19. ^ "Solar System Exploration: Io". Solar System Exploration. NASA. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  20. ^ Nave, R. "Magnetic Field of the Earth". Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  21. ^ Heller, René; Barnes, Rory; Leconte, Jérémy (April 2011). "Tidal obliquity evolution of potentially habitable planets". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 528: A27. arXiv:1101.2156. Bibcode:2011A&A...528A..27H. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201015809.
  22. ^ Henney, Paul. "How Earth and the Moon interact". Astronomy Today. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  23. ^ "Mars 101 – Overview". Mars 101. NASA. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  24. ^ Armstrong, John C.; Leovy, Conway B.; Quinn, Thomas (October 2004). "A 1 Gyr climate model for Mars: new orbital statistics and the importance of seasonally resolved polar processes". Icarus. 171: 255–271. Bibcode:2004Icar..171..255A. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2004.05.007. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  25. ^ Choi, Charles Q. (27 December 2009). "Moons Like Avatar's Pandora Could Be Found". Space.com. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  26. ^ Greenberg, R.; Hoppa, G. V.; Tufts, B. R.; Geissler, P.; Riley, J.; Kadel, S. (October 1999). "Chaos on Europa". Icarus. 141: 263–286. Bibcode:1999Icar..141..263G. doi:10.1006/icar.1999.6187.
  27. ^ Schmidt, B. E.; Blankenship, D. D.; Patterson, G. W. (November 2011). "Active formation of 'chaos terrain' over shallow subsurface water on Europa". Nature. 479: 502–505. Bibcode:2011Natur.479..502S. doi:10.1038/nature10608. PMID 22089135.
  28. ^ "Moon of Jupiter could support life: Europa has a liquid ocean that lies beneath several miles of ice". msnbc.com. Retrieved 2011-07-10.
  29. ^ "Liquid water on Saturn moon could support life: Cassini spacecraft sees signs of geysers on icy Enceladus". msnbc.com. Retrieved 2011-07-10.
  30. ^ "Life On Titan? New Clues to What's Consuming Hydrogen, Acetylene On Saturn's Moon". Science Daily. 2010-06-07. Retrieved 2011-07-10.
  31. ^ Phillips, T. (1998-10-23). "Callisto makes a big splash". Science@NASA.
  32. ^ Lipps, Jere H.; Delory, Gregory; Pitman, Joe; et al. (2004). "Astrobiology of Jupiter's Icy Moons" (PDF). Proc. SPIE. Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology VIII. 5555: 10. doi:10.1117/12.560356.
  33. ^ "Ganymede May Harbor 'Club Sandwich' of Oceans and Ice". JPL@NASA. 2014-05-04.
  34. ^ Vance, Steve; et al. (2014). "Astrobiology of Jupiter's Icy Moons". Planetary and Space Science. Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology VIII. 96: 62. Bibcode:2014P&SS...96...62V. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2014.03.011.
  35. ^ Charles Q. Choi (2010-06-07). "Chance For Life On Io". Science Daily. Retrieved 2011-07-10.
  36. ^ Louis Neal Irwin; Dirk Schulze-Makuch (June 2001). "Assessing the Plausibility of Life on Other Worlds". Astrobiology. 1 (2): 143–60. Bibcode:2001AsBio...1..143I. doi:10.1089/153110701753198918. PMID 12467118.
  37. ^ "Water on Pluto moon". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2007-07-19.
  38. ^ Jonathan O'Callaghan (10 March 2015). "Alien moons could be more likely to host life than Earth-like planets, claims scientist". Daily Mail. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  39. ^ a b Heller, René; Rory Barnes (2012). "Exomoon habitability constrained by illumination and tidal heating". Astrobiology. 13: 18–46. arXiv:1209.5323. doi:10.1089/ast.2012.0859.
  40. ^ a b c Heller, René (September 2013). "Magnetic shielding of exomoons beyond the circumplanetary habitable edge". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 776: L33. arXiv:1309.0811. Bibcode:2013ApJ...776L..33H. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/776/2/L33.
  41. ^ Robin McKie (13 January 2013). "Is there life on moons?". Guardian. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Habitability_of_natural_satellites&oldid=760872341"