10 mind-boggling oceans that exist in space From the diamond oceans of Neptune,
to the waters that are scattered across the moons of various planets, and more!
Allow us to show you some of the most mind-boggling oceans that exist in space!
10. The Diamond Oceans Of Neptune And Uranus Depending on what you believe, there are
either 8 or 9 planets in the Solar System that includes Earth. Either way though, two of the
outer planets that we have only seen through probes and satellites are Uranus and Neptune.
These are gaseous planets that most would think wouldn't be capable of having any oceans at all,
but you would be wrong in that assumption. Because not only do they each have oceans,
they technically have oceans that are comprised of diamonds.
How is this possible? It has to do with the composition of the planets themselves. Mainly,
beneath the gaseous planets atmospheres are bodies of water, and within them are mantles made up of
water, ammonia, and methane ices. On the surface, that wouldn't mean much. However, both of these
planets exert an enormous amount of pressure, and not just that, they're under pressure while the
temperature ranges between 1,727 degrees Celsius (3,141 °F) and 4,727 degrees Celsius (8,541 °F).
When you mix those elements, the methane breaks up into the components that make it up as a whole.
One of which is carbon. And when carbon is under enough pressure...it creates diamonds.
But here's the twist, because of the location, heat and pressure, there are actually two
"kinds of diamonds" roaming around in those oceans. Hard diamonds, and liquid diamonds.
The diamonds that are formed in the pressure of the planet are eventually melted down and sink
towards the mantle. So there's a layer of hard diamonds and then a layer of liquid diamonds.
Some even speculate that Neptune and Uranus have "diamond bergs" due to the heating and pressure.
It's quite a visual, and no doubt some would want to go and get these diamonds to try and
make a fortune. Though they'd have to wait until we can actually reach those oceans.
Another theory about these unique oceans is that the weight of the diamond oceans are what have
offset the axis of both planets. So this could be the reason that Uranus is on such a "funny tilt".
9. The Magma Oceans of Io From an ocean of diamonds
we now move to arguably the hottest oceans in our solar system. But it's not a planet that has this,
but the moon of Io. To those that know the moon this won't be that much of a surprise because Io
is the most "active" moon in our solar system due to it having over 400 volcanoes on its surface.
Now, that could be fine if they weren't constantly erupting...but
that's exactly what happens. The moon is very much plagued by the eruptions of these volcanoes
and then it goes even larger in that there are lava flows ransacking the moon. Which brings us
to our mind-boggling ocean because instead of hardening after a while like most lava does,
the position of Io in relativity to Jupiter and nearby moons makes it so that the lava stays in
its liquid state. As such, there are indeed oceans on Io that are "liquid hot magma".
Why? Because the planet gets a lot of internal and external heat, to the extent that it's piping
hot all the time so thus the magma can't cool down. It's also basically an electric
generator of a moon and is able to have so much electricity within it that hit can go and cause
lightning to happen in Jupiter's atmosphere! In short, these aren't the kind of oceans that
you want to take a dip in. 8. Pluto's Nuclear Ocean
Pluto, it's a planet, don't anyone tell you different.
But, because of its distance from the sun, you'd very likely think that anything but
ice on Pluto is impossible. It's so far from the sun that heat reaching it is basically impossible
and thus its surface temperature is at times -400 degrees Fahrenheit!
So ice is definitely possible, but how is an ocean? That would be because this particular
ocean is under the surface of the planet and its gets heated by a very unexpected source.
Like many other planets in our solar system, radioactive elements lie beneath Pluto’s surface,
specifically uranium, potassium-40, and thorium. As they enter the process of radioactive decay,
they emit heat, a heat that is more than powerful enough to melt the icy layers of the planet
and go keep it in a liquid state. Yes, you heard that right, Pluto may have
a nuclear ocean underneath its surface. Yes, this is still only a theory based on
certain things we know about Pluto, but it is something very curious for sure,
and it would line up with certain other things Pluto is known for. And perhaps that's why they
got rid of Pluto as a planet, they didn't want any more nuclear planets in the solar system.
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7. Kepler 62e's Ocean World If you've been studying space for a long time,
then you'll know that many people are looking for potential "habitable planets"
for humanity to go and live on one day. One of those planets is potentially Kepler 62e.
A planet that orbits a red dwarf star. The reason this planet (and one other nearby) has a lot of
people's attention is because this planet resides in the "habitable zone". Meaning that with its
position to the sun, there is potential for water, and thus, potential for life.
Now, before you go and pack your bags to Kepler, there are a few things to note.
The biggest of which is that Kepler is FAR away and impossible for us to reach by now,
but the other is that this may truly be a world...with a global ocean.
"How is that different from Earth?" Because the Earth has landmasses AND massive oceans.
But early looks at Kepler 62e is that the planet is a true "waterworld" with no overt landmasses.
Of course, this is slightly speculation as we haven't gotten the chance to look at it closely.
But many believe that this is the case. If so, this would truly be something
nice to look at, and yet...not exactly a place to live in...yet.
6. Kepler 22b's Life Ocean What's that? Another Kepler planet?
Why yes it is, Kepler 22b is another planet that many think could be a special planet, except
unlike the last one...they think this is one that we might be able to actually live in. Or perhaps
even more accurately...have life there right now. Exactly, this is a planet that many scientists
speculate already have life within the oceans of the planet. Which if you recall,
the theory of evolution states that all life starts in the waters of a world
and then grows onto land. And by that token, that would mean this planet is something that
we as humans are able to go and live on one day. The problem? Well...it's 600 light years away,
and that causes a problem because a lot of this is just speculation and theory based on
the few images we have seen since locating the planet a long time ago. But as some have noted,
there is still reason to have hope for this. Natalie Batalha, Kepler deputy science chief,
said, “It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that life could exist in such an ocean.”
5. Enceladus's Underground Life Ocean Nope, we're still not done showing you
oceans that could have life, but this one is a twist on the formula because it's an ocean that
very much could have life...but is also very much underground. Oh, and it's also not a planet,
but a moon of Saturn, which obviously changes the game in various ways as you might expect.
So how can we know life and water exist in the underground parts of a moon?
Simple. Because Enceladus as it's known has cryvolcanoes that spray water vapor into the air
all the time, some of which escapes into space. The Cassini Space Probe and other devices studied
these vapors and found that they had sodium salts that you would find in an ocean. Furthermore,
the Cassini Space Probe found its gravitational signal, and because of the salts that are in
the ocean, that means that the compounds for life are there if things "mix a certain way".
Which means that to go and find other life in the universe...we
may only need to go to a moon of Saturn. 4. Ceres and the Impossible Ocean
This next one is a bit curious in its own right, because this is not a planet or a moon.
It's actually a rock object that fills up the asteroid belt in the solar system.
It's the largest object in that asteroid belt in fact
and makes up a LARGE fraction of its own weight. By definition it's a "dwarf planet" and is
no larger than Texas, so something like an ocean shouldn't be possible within it. Yet...it has one.
This was discovered by the Dawn Probe when it found a "bright light" on the
surface of the planet that is believed to be a cryovolcano. And as we noted earlier,
these are the volcanoes that go and shoot water vapor in the air from underground.
So somehow...someway...this little dwarf planet has an ocean under its surface. Cool, huh?
3. Jupiter's Record-Breaking Ocean Jupiter is another planet that we define as a "gas
giant", and it's the biggest planet in our solar system. But as scientists have learned, while it's
gas on the outside, it's very much liquid on the surface. Over 78 percent of its surface is
apparently this liquid ocean. Which makes it the biggest ocean in the known solar system.
Oh, and if you're curious, this particular ocean is over 33,000 miles deep.
Not feet, MILES. That's a big ocean. The big shocker here is that for such
a massive ocean to exist on Jupiter...that would require some serious pressure and chemical forces,
and thus there are only theories as to how this is possible on Jupiter...but it exists.
2. Lobster Oceans To be clear, this is not an ocean filled
with Lobsters, that would be weird. Rather, this is a theoretical ocean that some think exist on
tidally locked planets (meaning planets that don't rotate and always have one side facing the sun).
Scientists did models based on the theory that such planets could go and hold watery oceans on
their surface despite the intense heat and cold. They focused on known tidally locked planets
and did a model to see what they would be like. The answer was that they would be
elliptical-shaped oceans that had "claw-like" extensions. Hence, Lobster Oceans.
Now, as of yet, none have been confirmed to exist, but that's more about the limitations
of our own technology at present versus proof that this just doesn't happen.
1. Alpha Centauri Bb Lava Ocean World Earlier, we showed you a world that is said to be
a true "ocean planet", well, here's the opposite of that in a way. In the Alpha Centauri sector
of space (where certain planets are said to be potential hotspots for human habitation one day),
there is a place called Alpha Centauri Bb.
This is a planet that is NOT in the habitable zone of the star it encircles, and thus, the heat
it gets from being in proximity make it a place where lava and magma are literally everywhere.
Its surface temperature is said to be 2200 Fahrenheit, which is three time hotter than Venus,
which is very hot due to the Greenhouse effect. Now, because of the fact that we haven't seen this
planet personally there is some speculation as to where this is real or not...but
if it is real...this is another place human kind should definitely not want to go to.
What did you think of this look at the various oceans that do indeed exist in
space? Were you surprised by the depths and composition that these oceans had?
Are you shocked that such entities like these, and possibly even more, are riddled throughout
the stars? Which ones would you personally like to go and see one day if you could? Let us know
in the comments below, be sure to subscribe and we'll see you next time on the channel!