planets with water
Scientists are constantly discovering new and amazing things in our solar system. One of these things is water on other planets. That led me to wonder what bodies in our solar system, besides Earth, have water? And, if these other solar bodies have water, where are the universe’s best beaches?
Planets with Water
The Moon
Image of the Moon taken by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper. Blue shows the spectral signature of hydroxide, green shows the brightness of the surface as measured by reflected infrared radiation from the Sun and red shows a mineral called pyroxene. Image courtesy of Wikipedia .
Okay, so the moon isn’t a planet. It’s our planet’s (Earth) moon. It also has water, but not the same sort of water we have here on earth. The moon’s water is trapped in rocks on the moon’s surface. According to NASA, “Using data from NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) instrument aboard the Indian Space Research Organization’s Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, scientists remotely detected magmatic water, or water that originates from deep within the moon’s interior, on the surface of the moon.”
Given that the moon’s water is locked in rocks and that there is no oxygen on the moon – I’ve never seen a spacesuit speedo, have you? – I’d have to say that the moon’s beaches are nothing to write home about.
Mars
History of water on Mars. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.
Scientists are in agreement that Mars contains a significant amount of surface hydrogen in the form of ice, but that atmospheric conditions on Mars prohibit the existence of liquid water. However, in August 2011, NASA announced the discovery of seasonal changes on steep slopes below rocky outcrops near crater rims in Mars’ Southern hemisphere. Dark marks were seen to grow downslope during the warmest part of the Martian summer. Researchers suggested these marks were consistent with salty water flowing downslope and then evaporating, possibly leaving some sort of residue. (Wikipedia)
Since the temperature on Mars averages -63° C and there’s also no oxygen on Mars, Mars wouldn’t be a good place for a beach vacation either.
Titan
Image courtesy of astrobio.net.
Titan is also a moon rather than a planet. Titan is the largest of Saturn’s 53 currently known moons. According to NASA, “Titan has been called the most earthlike world in the solar system because it has lakes, seas and flowing rivers on its surface, although the liquid is methane (CH4) and ethane (C2H6) instead of water.”
Although Titan does have stable bodies of surface liquid — unlike any of the other extraterrestrial locations with water — I wouldn’t recommend a dip in Titan’s water since it’s made up of methane and ethane. And, even though Titan’s atmosphere is the only nitrogen-rich atmosphere in the Solar System aside from Earth’s, it’s 98.4% nitrogen with the remaining 1.6% composed mostly of methane and hydrogen. And, Titan’s surface temperature is about 179.2 °C. None of these factors are conducive to a great day at the beach.
Mercury
A Mosaic of MESSENGER Images of Mercury’s North Polar Region. Image courtesy of NASA.
Earth-based radar imaging first spotted signs of water ice near Mercury’s north and south poles more than 20 years ago. This came as a surprise since temperatures on Mercury can top 800° F. New images by NASA’s spacecraft – taken in 2011 and early 2014 — “strongly indicate that water ice is the major constituent of Mercury’s north polar deposits, that ice is exposed at the surface in the coldest of those deposits, but that the ice is buried beneath an unusually dark material across most of the deposits, areas where temperatures are a bit too warm for ice to be stable at the surface itself.”
Europa
Graphic of Europa. Image courtesy of Nature, NASA, University of AZ.
Europa is another moon rather than planet. It’s the fourth largest of Jupiter’s 62 known moons. According to NASA, Europa’s surface is mostly water ice and beneath the ice may be an ocean of water or slushy ice. If this ocean were ever proven to exist, Europa would possess more than twice as much water as Earth. Because of its abundant liquid water, energy and chemistry provided by tidal heating, Europa could be the best place in the solar system to look for life beyond Earth.
Based on my highly scientific study I can now conclude that Earth has the best beaches in the universe. In addition to having the only atmosphere we can breathe in, and the only water we can swim in, and the only surface temperature we can survive in, we have pina coladas!
Addendum:
After publishing this article, I heard from Damian Tatum, a gentleman far more knowledgeable than I. This is what he had to say about bodies in our solar system with surface liquid.
“The way the (original topic) was structured was ‘bodies in our solar system with surface liquid’. By that strict standard, you’re pretty much down to Earth and Titan. Earth has liquid water; Titan has liquid hydrocarbons (ethane, methane, and propane; literally lakes of cold lighter fluid).
There are almost certainly other manifestations of liquid in the solar system, even liquid water, but not on a surface. Mars may have occasional springs of water, but that’s unconfirmed. Mars definitely has ice just under the surface, so it’s reasonable that ice could melt and flow sometimes. That would be more of a trickle than an actual beach, though.
As mentioned, Jupiter’s moon Europa, and also probably Saturn’s moon Enceladus, have sub-surface oceans. These oceans may even contain hydrothermal vents where life could survive. But both moons are frozen on their surfaces. There are geysers on Enceladus that allow us to see volcanic blasts of ice crystals go flying into space; sitting in the vacuum of space on Enceladus’ surface and watching such an explosion would be interesting, but little like a beach visit. There are probably other small icy bodies, like Pluto, that could have sub-surface liquid water, but it’s speculation at this point.
Similarly, there may be ice on the Moon, and ice has been observed hidden away in the darkest craters of Mercury, but neither reservoir is ever liquid.
There are no molten metal lakes in the solar system that I am aware of. Venus’s surface temperature is hot enough to melt quite a few metals, but no lakes have formed there.
One weird environment not mentioned is Jupiter’s moon Io, which has massive volcanoes all over the surface. These eject bright yellow plumes of sulfur, which coat the entire moon in a sickly gold blanket. The volcanoes also create basalt lava flows, similar to what you might see in Hawaii.
At least, chilling out on a yellow dune of sulfur and watching lava flow lazily across the landscape, you’d probably feel warm. It’s the only ‘beach’ in our solar system that could perhaps merit cracking open a cold Corona. Speaking of coronas, Io also has atmospheric auroras! I am not sure if they would be visible with the naked eye, but the view of Jupiter would be extraordinary.”
To many joyful beach experiences!
— Lisa Dworkin
