A shifty moon

Pattern of troughs on Europa offers new evidence for subterranean ocean

Imagine a shift in the position of Earth’s continents so extreme that Alaska would move to the equator. Astronomers have now found evidence that such a shift actually happened on Jupiter’s large icy moon Europa. The sliding of the moon’s icy surface provides further evidence that an ocean lies beneath the ice, upping the odds that Europa has a subterranean habitat that could support some kind of life.