Why is Europa always compared to Lake Vostok?
I’ve actually never heard about this before, but it makes sense… I’m kind of surprised that the water in Vostok is below freezing (Water freezes at 276.13 K), but if in fact that is the case, then Europa’s water may be at a similar temperature… I have always been under the impression (from Chemistry mostly) that water stabilizes at about 3 degrees celsius at the lowest depths of the oceans (276 K). I’ve never heard of liquid water, at depth, being colder than that… This has to do with the geometry of the water molecule. I have always held that, because of the geometry, water is most dense at this temperature… So, consequently, Europa’s water at depth is probabaly also at this temperature. That’s why they are most likely making the comparison. Thanks for the question… You’ve given me some research to do today! 🙂 …and I’m looking forward to reading the other answers on this one… UPDATE: OK, now it makes more sense. I just pulled this from Wikipedia… BEGIN COPY The averag
