Europa water plume evidence weakens

A new analysis of over a decade of Hubble Space Telescope observations, led by researchers from Southwest Research Institute>>> including Kurt Retherford>>> and Lorenz Roth>>> from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, challenges earlier claims of water vapor plumes on Jupiter's moon Europa (moon)>>>. The re-examination of ultraviolet data significantly weakens the evidence, reducing the confidence in the plumes' existence from 99.9% to less than 90%. This suggests that previous observations may have been influenced by statistical uncertainty rather than definitive signs of erupting water vapor. While the existence of plumes is not entirely ruled out, the evidence is no longer considered concrete. Future missions like United States — NASA>>>'s Europa Clipper>>> and the International — European Space Agency>>>'s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer>>> are expected to provide more conclusive answers.