Astronomy Picture of the Day 1-28-03

NASA ^ | 1-28-03 | Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell

[petuniasevan]

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2003 January 28

The Lost World of Lake Vida
Credit & Copyright: Thomas Nylen & Andrew Fountain (PSU), NASA, NSF

Explanation: A lake hidden beneath 19 meters of ice has been found near the bottom of the world that might contain an ecosystem completely separate from our own. In a modern version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic book Lost World, scientists are now plotting a mission to drill down into the lake and take out a small part to see what's there. Lake Vida, buried under Antarctic ice for over 2,500 years, is liquid only because of its high salt content. Previously, scientists drilled to within a few meters of the lake and indeed found frozen microbes. Their existence bolsters speculation that similar microorganisms could be found in frozen brine beneath the surface of Mars. If living organisms are found in Lake Vida, they may give an indication that life might even still exist under similar frozen ice-sheets, such as under the larger Lake Vostok, parts of Mars, and even moons of Jupiter such as Europa. Pictured above, a robot meteorological station continues to monitor surface conditions over the ice-sealed lake.

[petuniasevan]

This project has been going on for a while in one of the Dry Valleys of Antarctica. The logistics for the drilling attempt are difficult to accomplish in such an extreme climate, but that is a good way to test equipment. Probes sent to Mars or Europa will benefit from experience we gain this way.

This lake is covered by only its own ice - about 60 feet thick. In interior East Antarctica, Russian scientists found a lake buried under 2 miles of ice. Here's a cutaway graphic of glacier-buried Lake Vostok:

Read about the fascinating lake under the coldest place on Earth

A Sea of Mystery, Frozen in Time

More on the McMurdo Dry Valleys

MCMURDO DRY VALLEYS REGION, TRANSANTARCTIC MOUNTAINS

[petuniasevan]

[petuniasevan]

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

Thanks for the ping...now let's go discover the Ice Maidens of Europa!

[new cruelty]

'That's all the way nice.'

[Joan912]

Antarctica is awesome! Thanks so much for the ping. :)

[WSGilcrest]

In interior East Antarctica



Which way's east?

[MeekOneGOP]

[petuniasevan]

[sistergoldenhair]

Very interesting.