Chapter 215: Three thousand meters of ice shell, one hundred thousand meters of deep sea! Europa!
The ancients obviously did not know the answer to this question.

But the ancients were very curious.

After all, the search for life outside the Earth is a very ancient topic.

Imaginations about aliens are not uncommon in the history of China and the world, both ancient and modern.

The ancients knew very little about the universe and astronomy.

But we are also curious about whether there is life on other worlds.

Plus in recent times.

Because Tianmu has gradually popularized a lot of astronomy-related knowledge.

It also led to a wave of astronomy fever in China throughout the dynasties.

When the new marquee title appears.

When you ask if you know which other planet besides Earth is most likely to have life.

Ancient people would almost always look at the sky intently at the first moment.

Even ordinary people in ancient times who could not read a single word would feel the same curiosity.

This kind of looking up at the stars and thinking about the universe.

It is human nature.

It has nothing to do with status or the extent of one’s experience.

And under the watchful eyes of the ancients, the sky curtain began to tell the story.

【Based on the astronomical knowledge currently available. 】

[Among the planets that humans have already discovered, the most likely to have life is the satellite of Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system! ]

【Europa! Also known as Europa. 】

After mentioning the name of Europa.

The sky screen also provides a cool game screen.

This footage is taken from a scene in the famous FPS shooting game, Call of Duty.

In the picture, a group of soldiers fell from the sky.

A fierce battle ensued upon the icy surface of Europa.

In the sky ahead of them.

Jupiter is so close that it almost occupies the entire sky!

And the tiny humans are fighting on the smooth ice surface of Europa.

Qin Dynasty.

Ying Zheng saw the soldiers walking on the ice surface of Europa.

Thoughtful.

Although he is not a scientist, Ying Zheng has a very high IQ and a strong ability of divergent thinking.

immediately.

Ying Zheng gave a very reliable guess.

"Tianmu said before that Jupiter is very far away from the sun."

"In that case, the temperature of Europa must also be very low."

"In the picture just given, the entire surface of the planet appears to be frozen."

"Furthermore, even if there were fierce battles and explosions on it, it would not affect the ice surface at all."

"This confirms that the ice layer on Europa is definitely very thick."

"Could it be that Europa actually has a very deep ocean?"

"Is it because the temperature over there is too low that the entire ocean is frozen into ice?"

Ying Zheng was imagining the scene on Europa, and Tianmu continued his story.

[Among Jupiter's 92 satellites, Europa is the most eye-catching one. ]

[The planet's diameter is 3138 kilometers.]

[The average temperature at the equator of Europa is less than minus 160 degrees. ]

[The average temperature at the north and south poles of Europa is below minus 220 degrees.]

【The entire planet is covered with a thick layer of ice. 】

[No known life form can survive in such extreme cold.]

[It looks like Europa is just another dead planet wrapped in ten-thousand-year-old ice, and it looks ordinary. ]

【But with the advancement of science. 】

【Scientists have observed an astonishing fact. 】

[That is, there are a large number of cracks on the ice layer on the surface of Europa! ]

[The characteristics of this crack are very likely caused by crustal activity. ]

[And if the entire planet has active crustal activity, then it means that Europa, as a satellite, has geothermal temperatures? ]

[Generally, the heat of crustal activity comes from the planet's core. ]

[But given Europa's size, it shouldn't have an active core.]

[Even if there was internal energy accumulated in the early years when the planet was born, it should have been consumed after billions of years of release.]

[Another key piece of evidence is that the surface of Europa is very smooth. ]

[There are almost no traces of meteorite impact. ]

【Based on the size of Europa and its gravity. 】

[The entire planet's surface is so smooth that it is almost impossible to find no traces of meteorite impact! ]

[Unless those meteorite impact craters were smoothed out in a very short period of time.]

【For example, moving ice? 】

[Soon after, scientists discovered evidence of extensive volcanic activity on Europa’s neighboring moon, Io.]

[It proves that smaller satellites like Io and Europa can also have active geological activities.]

【And given that planets like Io and Europa are known to not have active cores. 】

[These satellites have active geological activities? 】

Where does the energy for geological activities come from?

[After research and analysis, it was finally determined that the source of their crustal heat was the resonance caused by gravity.]

[Under the mutual gravitational pull of Jupiter and several satellites. ]

【The entire planet was rubbed back and forth. 】

[The huge tidal force causes the planet's rocks to deform and squeeze each other.]

[During the entire process of stellar friction, huge amounts of heat are generated.]

[This explains why Io is a relatively small satellite.]

【But it has more than 400 volcanoes】

[It also gives the possibility that Europa also has active geological activities. ]

[The frictional heat of Europa is not as much as that of Io, but the geothermal heat is enough to melt the ice deep below.]

Now scientists have confirmed it.

[It's not a guess, but a very certain one. ]

[Under the thick layer of ice, it is about 30 kilometers deep.]

[It is a super ocean covering the entire planet of Europa. ]

[According to current estimates, the maximum thickness of the ice on Europa's surface can reach 30 kilometers, which is about the same as the Earth's crust.]

[The depth of the ocean beneath the ice is as much as one hundred kilometers! ]

[You should know that the deepest Mariana Trench on Earth is only a little over ten kilometers deep.]

[If we only count the liquid water content, the total amount of water on Europa alone is more than twice that of the Earth! ]

[Many scientists believe that life may exist in this ocean, which is of immeasurable thickness.]

……

Outside the sky.

The ancients were shocked.

At first, everyone was just listening to it as a piece of popular science knowledge after dinner. Later, they thought that Europa was just a planet inside the solar system.

Not even a planet, just a satellite.

The specifications and grades are relatively low.

There are planets like this and other mysterious planets outside the solar system and in the entire Milky Way.

Obviously there is no comparison.

The result is this one which looks very low spec.

Ordinary Europa.

It actually has more than twice as much water as the Earth!
It was actually under an ice layer that was thirty kilometers thick.

There are also some that can be up to one hundred kilometers thick.

Super global ocean!
This moment shattered the ancient people's understanding of the seemingly low-specification satellites.

And understand once again.

The knowledge I currently possess, and the entire universe.

No, only compared to the unsolved mysteries of the entire inner solar system.

They are just a drop in the bucket.

Even the ruthless political machine Ying Zheng.

They all said somewhat sadly:

"I am afraid that I will never be able to understand all the knowledge about the solar system in my lifetime."

"Even if it's just one percent?"

"Unless I can achieve immortality, there is no chance at all."

Some ancient people were shocked by Europa.

Even feeling a little depressed.

I feel that the universe is so vast and great.

I can't learn it no matter how hard I try.

The more you know, the more you don’t understand.

But this doesn’t mean that the ancients were ignorant.

After all, even modern humans stand on the shoulders of countless giants.

In fact, we still know very little about the universe and the solar system.

After the video introduces the knowledge that Europa has a global ocean that is one hundred kilometers deep.

Modern barrage viewers were also amazed by it.

《Three satellites of Jupiter? Three bodies!》

"Watch the Three-Body Problem and see if this is the same thing?"

"Is the frictional heat generation on Europa a perpetual motion machine?"

"Planets themselves have a lifespan and can never move."

"Wow, 30,000 meters underground!"

"You don't have to worry about falling when skating on this."

"The ocean is hundreds of kilometers deep and dozens of kilometers under the ice. Just thinking about it makes me feel suffocated!"

《The real Subnautica! 》

《The players of Abyssal Syndrome say they are very familiar with it! 》

"No wonder scientists say there may be life in this deep sea."

"You're telling me there's nothing in this deep sea? I don't believe it."

"Not necessarily? What if the seawater is not suitable for living things?"

……

And the sky curtain comes next.

Let’s also start talking about what everyone is most concerned about.

Content about whether there is life on Europa?
[It’s not surprising to find water outside of Earth.]

[After all, the universe is full of ice.]

[Since there is ice everywhere, it is normal for there to be water. ]

[The key is Europa's global super ocean, what are the main components of its water? ]

[At the beginning, based on the data sent back by Galileo. ]

[Scientists speculate that the main component of Europa's ocean is magnesium sulfate salts.]

[However, according to the latest scientific research results in the past few years, it can be determined that the main component of Europa's ocean is actually sodium chloride. ]

[This is the salt we usually eat. ]

[It can be further inferred that the seawater on Europa should be no different in essence from the seawater on Earth.]

[This discovery instantly aroused the imagination of scientists. ]

[After all, the Earth's oceans are the first place where life was born. ]

[As for the water in Europa, are there enough nutrients to nurture life? 】

【There is also evidence for this. 】

[Because the ice layer on Europa's surface will be decomposed into hydrogen and oxygen under the influence of cosmic radiation. ]

[These two elements will sink into the ocean and provide oxygen to the ocean.]

【So, all the conditions seem to be in place. 】

[The ocean is composed of conditions similar to those on Earth, with the temperature provided by geothermal heat and oxygen elements decomposed from the ice surface.]

[These are enough to maintain a large and thriving marine ecosystem. ]

When seeing this, many comments expressed some understanding of the origin of life.

They have already started exclaiming.

Because based on the current knowledge.

The origin of life on Earth is near submarine volcanoes.

And Europa now has an ocean too!

There are also underwater volcanoes!

There’s even oxygen in seawater!
This is almost no different from when life on Earth was born!
Canopy.

[Based on the observation data currently available, it can be basically determined that the environment on the seafloor of Europa is almost the same as the hydrothermal outlet of the submarine volcano where the earliest life was born on Earth.]

[Some scientists even think that. ]

【Considering the presence of a large variety of life forms at the Earth's submarine volcanic hydrothermal vents. 】

[In this case, if the seafloor of Europa is similar to the hydrothermal vents on the seafloor of Earth, there is no life. ]

【This is actually a strange thing. 】

Jin Dynasty.

Although Sima Zhong's IQ was not high, he was very interested in astronomical science knowledge.

Seeing this, Sima Zhong also felt that there must be life on Europa.

Sima Zhong happily took a bite of the secret grilled squid that was tributed by southern officials.

He asked with wide eyes, "Since there is life on Europa."

"Then we humans on Earth can finally be said to no longer be alone."

"So what does life on Europa look like? Is it like fish on the bottom of the ocean?"

"Or like me, the Chinese?"

"Or maybe since Europa is so far away from China, they might look more like those foreign barbarians, like ghosts?"

Sima Zhong happily put forward various conjectures.

No one can answer this question at the moment.

Even with modern skylights, only a guess can be made.

(End of this chapter)