Touristic places of the Solar System

What about some astronomy? In this article we will explore some of the greatest places in the Solar System. However, the bad news is that you are not going to be able to go to these places until... 2099? By now, let´s look at these places on your screens.


Eris
Eris is a dwarf planet in the outskirts of the Solar System, near the Kuiper belt. It seems empty, sad, even ugly... but that´s what makes this tiny world special. Eris is just there... floating in the middle of nowhere, orbiting around the Sun silently. And also, a great place to look at the stars, because it doesn´t even have a significant atmosphere. So enjoy the views if you ever go to Eris.


Io
Io, a satellite of Jupiter, is a very hostile world where there are daily volcanic eruptions. Apart from the very intense volcanic activity we´ve got the unbearable temperatures and the almost complete lack of water in the planet. This, combined with the atmosphere (formed mainly by gases) makes Io one of the most hostile worlds in our Solar System. So if you want an adventure, go to Io, but probably you will not survive....


Ganymede
Ganymede is the biggest satellite of Jupiter. But its size doesn´t matter, because you are looking at a world where, the scientists suspect, there is life. Why? Very simple: under the surface of Ganymede there´s a salted sea, just like here on the Earth. Also, there´s oxygen and hydrogen in the weak atmosphere of Ganymede... so very probably, there´s life just near us... but the limited budget of the space agencies are making this search very difficult. A wonderful place for a biologist... but don´t dig too much...


Titan
Titan is one of the most complex worlds in the Solar System. Behind the atmosphere which gives that flat colour to the planet there are mountains, plains, valleys, seas and even a river... but instead of liquid water Titan has liquid methane. And seems impossible to see life here... but actually, some scientists are thinking about enormous unicellular organisms living in the methane seas of Titan. Also, a space probe was sent to Titan, showing that the surface seems like a terrestrial landscape with similar geographical features. In words of the NASA “it seems like Arizona”.


Europa
And let´s finish with Europa, another satellite of Jupiter. Normally, one of the main problems of the space journeys is that you don´t have water... well, in Europa there´s plenty of it (it has as much water as the Earth). On the surface there is a lot of ice... well, the surface is made of ice. And behind the surface there is a liquid sea of water, where there´s probably life (in similar conditions to those subterranean seas in the Antarctica). So in Europa you would find ice, water... and more ice, so I think anyone needs a bottle of water here... 

No comments:

Post a Comment