Icy moonquakes

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/icy-moonquakes

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the type of celestial body?Icy moons orbiting gas giant planets (Jupiter and Saturn)
2. What is the primary drivers of seismic activity?Tidal heating, fracturing of ice shells, movement of subsurface water, and cryovolcanism
3. What causes moonquakes on icy moons like Europa and Enceladus?Tidal heating from their giant planet pulls and flexes the ice, making it crack and quake.
4. Why do scientists think Europa has a huge ocean under its ice?Spacecraft like Galileo saw a smooth, fractured ice shell and clues that a global ocean may be underneath, holding more water than all Earth's oceans together.

Tidal Heating: Internal heat generated within a celestial body due to the gravitational flexing by a larger companion object.
Cryovolcanism: Volcanic activity where eruptions consist of volatiles such as water, ammonia, or methane, instead of molten rock.
Biosignatures: Substances, objects, or patterns whose origin specifically requires a biological agent; indicators of past or present life.