For the first time, astronomers have uncovered the evidence of water vapor in the atmosphere of Jupiter's moon Ganymede. This water vapour forms when ice from the moon's surface sublimates -- that is, turns from solid to gas.
Scientists used new and archival datasets from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to make the discovery, and have published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Previous studies have shown that Ganymede may have more water than Earth, but as it is extremely cold with temperatures of minus 100 to 180 degrees Celsius, the water on the surface may be frozen. It was speculated that the liquid ocean may lie about 160 kilometres below the surface.
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This new evidence for a water atmosphere on Ganymede is crucial in our search for extraterrestrial life and habitable worlds.