Diamond Oceans on Neptune and Uranus
Beyond our solar system, Neptune and Uranus are the owners of two astonishing diamond oceans. Both planets have similar outer layers made of water, ammonia, and methane ice. Due to harsh conditions, immense pressure, high temperatures, and significant gravity, the methane molecules break down into pure carbon, forming diamonds.
High pressure and high temperatures cause these solid diamonds to melt, creating diamond oceans on the surface. Similar to rocks floating on water, solid diamonds would float on the liquid diamond oceans, meaning there could be diamond mountains floating on diamond oceans.
Magma Ocean on Io
With over 400 active volcanoes, Io is the most geologically active celestial body in the solar system. Its surface is covered with a molten magma ocean. The partially molten state of this magma ocean is due in part to Io’s unusual orbit.
Situated between Mercury and two of Jupiter’s Galilean moons, Europa and Ganymede, Io’s orbit is highly elliptical, meaning it sometimes gets very close to Jupiter. Due to the planet’s gravitational influence, Io’s surface bulges and rises up to 100 meters. The tidal forces generated have created enormous heat within Io, keeping the magma sea in a liquid state and causing tumultuous volcanic activity on its surface.
Subsurface Nuclear Ocean on Pluto
With a surface temperature of -230 degrees Celsius (-382°F), the existence of liquid on this frigid dwarf planet seems highly improbable until you consider what makes up Pluto’s core. Like many other planets in our solar system, radioactive elements lie beneath Pluto’s surface, particularly uranium, potassium-40, and thorium.
As these elements undergo radioactive decay, they release enough heat to keep water in a liquid state. Therefore, while Pluto’s surface may be frozen, there could be a subsurface ocean beneath its icy exterior.
Kepler-22b: A Habitable Ocean World
Kepler-22b is considered a water-world and resides entirely within the “Goldilocks zone,” a region where surface temperatures are neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water to exist. Water is essential for life, making this distant world a potential candidate for hosting life beyond Earth.
Subsurface Ocean on Enceladus Could Host Life
In the southern polar region of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, there are four prominent tiger stripe fractures, chasms on the surface teeming with active geysers. These geysers eject roughly 250 kilograms of water vapor per second. Most of it falls back to the surface, but some escapes into Saturn’s E-ring.
In a study in 2012, scientists were able to determine that a subsurface ocean of liquid water exists beneath the surface, with a mass nearly equal to Lake Superior. This subsurface ocean is not composed of typical water but also contains organic compounds (sodium salts), essential components for potential life, making it a prime candidate for hosting life within our solar system.
Ceres and Its Subsurface Mud Ocean
Although Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt and accounts for about a third of the total mass of the belt, this small dwarf planet is no larger than the state of Texas. By astronomical standards, Ceres is small, with a diameter of 950 kilometers, making the presence of a subsurface mud ocean even more impressive.
The Largest Ocean in the Solar System
Beneath Venus’s thick, 50-kilometer-deep cloud layer lies a massive liquid hydrocarbon ocean. Covering 78% of the planet’s radius, this ocean extends down to 54,531 kilometers.
What baffles scientists most is the extreme conditions under which it exists. To convert gaseous hydrocarbons into a liquid, immense pressure is required – nearly 100 million times Earth’s atmospheric pressure.
Molten Rock Ocean Planet
The name Alpha Centauri rings a bell because it’s the closest star system to our Sun, just 4.2 light-years away. About the size of the Sun, this distant planet likely has at least one planet orbiting it. It boasts the hottest surface temperature in our solar system.
This extreme heat would cause the entire surface of the planet to be covered in molten rock, rendering any life as we know it impossible on this remote world.