Callisto (moon) - Possibility of Life in The Ocean

Possibility of Life in The Ocean

As with Europa and Ganymede, the idea has been raised that extraterrestrial microbial life may exist in a salty ocean under the Callistoan surface. However, the conditions for life appear to be less favorable on Callisto than on Europa. The principal reasons are the lack of contact with rocky material and the lower heat flux from the interior of Callisto. Scientist Torrence Johnson said the following about comparing the odds of life on Callisto with the odds on other Galilean moons:

The basic ingredients for life—what we call 'pre-biotic chemistry'—are abundant in many solar system objects, such as comets, asteroids and icy moons. Biologists believe liquid water and energy are then needed to actually support life, so it's exciting to find another place where we might have liquid water. But, energy is another matter, and currently, Callisto's ocean is only being heated by radioactive elements, whereas Europa has tidal energy as well, from its greater proximity to Jupiter.

Based on the considerations mentioned above and on other scientific observations, it is thought that of all of Jupiter's Galilean moons, Europa has the greatest chance of supporting microbial life.

Read more about this topic:  Callisto (moon)

Famous quotes containing the words possibility of, possibility, life and/or ocean:

    So I cradle this average violin that knows
    Only forgotten showtunes, but argues
    The possibility of free declamation anchored
    To a dull refrain....
    John Ashbery (b. 1927)

    Most parents aren’t even aware of how often they compare their children. . . . Comparisons carry the suggestion that specific conditions exist for parental love and acceptance. Thus, even when one child comes out on top in a comparison she is left feeling uneasy about the tenuousness of her position and the possibility of faring less well in the next comparison.
    Marianne E. Neifert (20th century)

    To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust. It is to solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    So gladly, from the songs of modern speech
    Men turn, and see the stars, and feel the free
    Shrill wind beyond the close of heavy flowers,
    And through the music of the languid hours,
    They hear like ocean on a western beach
    The surge and thunder of the Odyssey.
    Andrew Lang (1844–1912)