The Hubble Space Telescope has spotted possible water plumes that appear to rise more than 100 miles from one of Jupiter's icy moons before raining material back down on its surface.
NASA said Monday the workhorse telescope detected the activity in the south pole of Europa where an ocean is thought to exist beneath its icy crust.
If the finding is confirmed, Europa would be the second moon in the solar system where water plumes have been detected. The Cassini spacecraft previously spied jets erupting from the surface of the Saturn moon Enceladus.
Scientists say the possible presence of plumes on Europa is exciting because it means any mission there may not have to drill through thick ice to study the underground ocean.
"Europa's ocean is considered to be one of the most promising places that could potentially harbor life in the solar system," said Geoff Yoder, acting associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C.. "These plumes, if they do indeed exist, may provide another way to sample Europa's subsurface."
The plumes appear to rise an estimated 125 miles before raining material down onto the moon's surface.
In 2012, Hubble found hints of water vapor venting from Europa's south pole, but didn't see anything in follow-up observations.
