In a multi-moon system, the eccentricity can be excited to relatively high values if the moons are in resonance, leading to significant tidal heating.' This process is dependent on many factors, including the interior structure and size of the moon, the mass of the planet, planet-moon separation, and the moon's orbital eccentricity. 'As a planet raises tides on a moon, some of the energy stored by the deformation is transferred into heating the moon. In the case of multi-moon systems, said Tokadjian and Piro, the amount of tidal heating depends on several factors. As Tokadjian and Piro showed in a previous paper using two candidate exoplanets as an example (Kepler-1708 b-i and Kepler-1625 b-i), the presence of exomoons can even be used to explore the interior of exoplanets. In short, the interactions between a planet and its satellites can affect the habitability of both.

The presence of this magnetic field shields Earth from harmful radiation and is what allowed our atmosphere to remain stable over time-and not slowly stripped away by solar wind (which was the case with Mars). Our planetary magnetic field is the result of its molten outer core rotating around a solid inner core and in the opposite direction of the planet's own rotation. 4.5 billion years ago) played a major role in the emergence of life. In recent decades, geologists and astrobiologists have theorized that the formation of the moon (ca. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech /SwRI/ASI/INAF/JIRAM/Roman Tkachenko For example, Europa hosts a liquid ocean due to tidal interactions with Jupiter, although it lies outside the solar system's ice line.'Īn amazingly active Io, Jupiter’s “pizza moon,” shows multiple volcanoes and hot spots in this photo taken with Juno’s infrared camera. Thus even systems outside the habitable zone may warrant further astrobiological studies. 'In terms of astrobiology, tidal heating may boost the surface temperature of a moon to a range where liquid water can exist. As Tokadjian explained to Universe Today via email: The heat and chemicals these vents release into the oceans could make these 'Ocean Worlds' potentially habitable-something scientists have been hoping to investigate for decades. This, in turn, allows for liquid oceans to exist due to the presence of hydrothermal vents at at the core-mantle boundary. In many cases, these icy moons are believed to have interior oceans resulting from tidal heating, where gravitational interaction with a larger planet leads to geological action in the interior. Their analysis was inspired largely by the presence of multiplanet moon systems in the solar system, such as those that orbit Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The paper that describes their findings ('Tidal Heating of Exomoons in Resonance and Implications for Detection') recently appeared online and has been submitted for publication in the Astronomical Journal. Piro from the University of Southern California (USC) and The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science.

The research was conducted by graduate student Armen Tokadjian and Professor Anthony L. This, in turn, could help exoplanet-hunters and astrobiologists determine which exomoons are more likely to be habitable. In a new study, a team of researchers investigated how the orbit of exomoons around their parent bodies could lead to (and place limits on) tidal heating-where gravitational interaction leads to geological activity and heating in the interior. In fact, some believe that exomoons may play a vital role in the habitability of exoplanets and could also be a good place to look for life beyond the solar system.

Moons of jupiter tidal heating