Another aquatic world has been discovered in the Solar System: findings from astronomers (photos included).

Currently, scientists believe that some of the moons of Jupiter, Saturn, as well as Neptune and Uranus, are water worlds. This means that beneath their thick icy crusts, they hide oceans of liquid water. The authors of a new study published in The Planetary Science Journal have concluded that deposits of carbon dioxide ice on the surface of Uranus's moon Ariel indicate the existence of a subsurface ocean, according to ScienceAlert.

Researchers suggest that ice made from carbon dioxide and other carbon-containing compounds is found in cracks on Ariel's surface, formed as a result of chemical processes occurring within the moon. This implies that these cracks could help to understand the internal structure of Uranus's moon. According to scientists, no other features on the surface of this icy world show evidence of material movement from below to the surface, apart from these cracks.

Previous studies proposed that these cracks were formed due to tectonic and volcanic activity, but the details of this process remained unclear. Now, scientists have utilized observation and modeling data to fill in the gaps in knowledge.

The study's authors concluded that a well-known process on Earth is likely responsible for the formation of cracks on Ariel. This process is called spreading and occurs in mid-ocean ridges, where parts of the ocean floor and material rise from below to form new sections of the crust.

On Ariel, spreading may occur when warmer material rises from below, fracturing the moon's crust before filling the created crack. In the past, Uranus's moons were in orbital resonance, causing the planet's gravity to heat the interiors of the moons. Scientists believe this could have led to changes on the surface of Uranus's moon, as well as in its interior. This means that conditions for the formation of an ocean of liquid water were created within the moon. Recent observations from the Webb Space Telescope suggest that such an ocean is present on Ariel.

If this is the case, then the ocean is likely responsible for the presence of carbon dioxide ice on the surface of Ariel, particularly in its cracks. Scientists indicate that it is currently challenging to assess the size and depth of the ocean. The study's authors assert that sending a spacecraft to explore Uranus and its moons is necessary to obtain evidence that Ariel is indeed a water world.