Hubble Finds Water Vapor in Ganymede’s Atmosphere

Using both archival and recent spectrographic data taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, scientists have discovered water vapor in the atmosphere of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede.

IMAGE: This image presents Jupiter’s moon Ganymede as seen by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in 1996. Located over 600 million kilometers away, Hubble can follow changes on the moon and reveal other characteristics at ultraviolet and near-infrared wavelengths. Astronomers have now used archival datasets from Hubble to reveal the first evidence for water vapor in the atmosphere of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede, the result of the thermal escape of water vapor from the moon’s icy surface. CREDIT: ESA/Hubble, NASA, J. Spencer

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