Unmasking Europa - The search for life on Jupiter's ocean moon

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A Close Look at Europa.And How Big Science Gets Done.The second outward of Jupiter s four major moons, Europa is covered with ice, as confirmed in views from modern telescopes and the thousands of images returned by NASA s Voyager and Galileo missions But these higher resolution views also showed that the ice is anything but smooth In fact, Europa s surface is covered with vast criss crossing systems of mountain sized ridges, jumbled regions of seemingly chaotic terrain, and patches that suggest upwellings of new surface materials from below How scientists think about the underlying forces that shaped this incredibly complex, bizarre, and beautiful surface is the subject of this book.In Unmasking Europa, Richard Greenberg tells the story of how he and his team of researchers came to believe that the surface of Europa is in fact a crust so thin that it can barely hide an ocean of liquid water below He shows how the ocean is warmed by the friction of tidal movements in this small moon as it orbits around immense Jupiter The implications of this interpretation which includes the idea that there are active intermittent openings from the liquid ocean to the frozen surface are immense The warmth, the chemistry, and the connections from ocean to surface provide the conditions necessary for the existence of life, even at this relatively remote locale in our solar system, far beyond what s normally thought of as its habitable zone Unmasking Europa describes in clear but technically sophisticated terms and with extensive illustrations including than 100 NASA images the remarkable history of research on Europa over the last four decades The book also provides unique insights into how big science gets done today, and it is not always a pretty picture From his perspective as professor of Planetary Science at the University of Arizona, and a quarter century long membership on the Imaging Team for NASA s Galileo mission, Greenberg describes how personal agendas including his own and political maneuvering in which he received an education by fire determined a lot about the funding, staffing, and even the direction of the research about Europa.While he is satisfied that his team s work is now, finally, receiving fair consideration and even respect, Greenberg comes away from his experience feeling that something is fundamentally wrong with the scientific enterprise as a whole because it routinely punishes innovation, risk taking thought, and willingness to simply let the evidence lead where it may In today s scientific environment with its careerist pressures and peer reviewed propriety, Greenberg believes, astute scientists and sadly many of our youngest and brightest quickly realize that it is rewarding in very practical ways to stay within the mainstream a tendency that by its very nature is at odds with the ideals of scientific research and thought. Download Unmasking Europa - The search for life on Jupiter's ocean moon By Richard Greenberg – kino-fada.fr I read this as background for a story I m working on, and it s got some pretty good science in there, though it s almost impossible to hear over the incessant axe grinding I have no doubt that Greenberg is largely right about the politics and adherence to party lines a phrase among many that he uses about 100x and the bullying of scientists who won t follow it, and on another day I would absolutely read a book about the inside baseball of science academia and how good ideas are pushed aside I read this as background for a story I m working on, and it s got some pretty good scienc...Excellent primer on the physical nature of Europa There s some speculation towards the end about life, but this book is mostly about the science of the moon s geological features, and the politics of the thin ice thick ice debate Indirectly, the book is a fascinating look at ...The book presents a minority report on the structure of the frozen moon of Jupiter Europa, based on the images sent by the Galileo space mission Greenberg and his research team are the most vocal proponents of the view that Europa is covered by a thin a few kms ice layer above a deep ocean, and he presents his arguments in great, often convincing detail He also reports about his bitter fight against the canonical view of the party line , which advocates a thick several tens of kms ice The book presents a minority report on the structure of the frozen moon of Jupiter Europa, based on the images sent by the Galileo space mission Greenberg and his research team are the most vocal proponents of the view that Europa is covered by a thin a few kms ice layer above a deep ocean, and he presents his arguments in great, often convincing detail He also reports about his bitter fight against the canonical view of the party line , which advocates a thick several tens of kms ice layer The main issue here is whether life forms are likely to exist in Europa s ocean, and a thin ice layer that allows for interactions between the ocean and Europa s surface makes the development of oceanic life muchlikely Future space missions will search for life in Europa s ocean While science has always advanced through the confrontation of minds, the fight between Greenberg and main stream scientists must have left some widely open scars,...This book provides the reader with a clear and comprehensive scientific perspective on the Europan planetary processes In Unmasking Europa , one will find solid evidence that points towards a communicating global ocean interacting with the icy surface The author, Richard Greenberg, with his vast expertise, describes how the immense tides created by the primary, Jupiter, cause the icy crust to be muchthinner than expected This offers a better chance for a chemistry that might support a This book provides the reader with a clear and comprehensive scientific perspective on the Europan planetary processes In Unmasking Europa , one will find solid evidence that points towards a communicating global ocean interacting with the icy surface The author, Richard Greenberg, with his vast expertise, describes how the immense tides created by the primary, Jupiter, cause the icy crust to be muchthinner than expected This offers a better chance for a chemistry that might support a biosphere in the interface between ocean and crust Many planetary features rise from the tidal stress caused by Jupiter, like cycloids, chaos, global crack patterns ridges some of them mechanisms of surface renewal Also, the author describes how rec...Fascinating non ction book about Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter, and about the scienti c process of understanding and publicising the ndings of the Voyager and Galileo probes to the Jovian system.Greenberg outlines how he and his group strongly contend the NASA consensus about Europa, which is that there is a sub surface ocean beneath an icy crust tens of kilometres thick Greenberg s group, in contrast, say that the crust is at most a few kilometres thick, andimportantly, that the Fascinating non ction book about Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter, and about the scienti c process of understanding and publicising the ndings of the Voyager and Galileo probes to the Jovian system.Greenberg outlines how he and his group strongly contend the NASA consensus about Europa, which is that there is a sub surface ocean beneath an icy crust tens of kilometres thick Greenberg s group, in contrast, say that the crust is at most a few kilometres thick, andimportantly, that the ocean is regularly in contact with the surface, opening up cracks and melting patches of ice.The implications of this for the possible existence of life on Europa, and our chances of detecting it, are very important But Greenberg shows how the political process yes, there is politics in scienti c research instead pushed aside his group s conclusions and enforced a di erent view of a ...What an awesome read Greenberg does an excellent job telling the story of his involvement with the Galileo mission While a bit disheartening to hear of the politics of big science, the book was still incredibly inspiring

Unmasking Europa - The search for life on Jupiter's ocean moon
  • English
  • 05 December 2018
  • Hardcover
  • 277 pages
  • 0387479368
  • Richard Greenberg
  • Unmasking Europa - The search for life on Jupiter's ocean moon