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Icy moon
Icy moons are a class of natural satellites with surfaces composed mostly of ice. An icy moon may harbor an ocean underneath the surface, and possibly include a rocky core of silicate or metallic rocks.[1] It is thought that they may be composed of ice II or other polymorph of water ice.[2] The prime example of this class of object is Europa.
Icy moons warmed by tides may be the most common type of celestial body in the galaxy to have liquid water,[3] and thus the most likely type of object to possibly have water-based life.
Some icy moons exhibit cryovolcanism, as well as geysers. The best studied example is Saturn's Enceladus.
- ^ Soderlund, Krista M.; et al. (January 2023). "The Physical Oceanography of Ice-Covered Moons". Annual Review of Marine Science. 16: 25–53. Bibcode:2023ARMS...16...25S. doi:10.1146/annurev-marine-040323-101355.
- ^ Chaplin, Martin (2007-10-26). "Ice-two structure". Water Structure and Science. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
- ^ "Can Life Exist on an Icy Moon? NASA's Europa Clipper Aims to Find Out - NASA". 2024-10-12. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
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