Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. HOMEPAGE

This chart shows all 10 of the likeliest ocean worlds in space

Ask someone "which way is the ocean?" and they'll probably point toward the coast.

Advertisement

NASA would tell you to look up at the stars.

Earth boasts roughly 320 million cubic miles' worth of water. That's a lot of life-giving liquid, yet it's a drop in the bucket compared to the rest of the solar system.

For example, Europa — a small moon that orbits Jupiter — probably has a subsurface ocean that hides more than twice as much water than all the water combined on Earth.

oceans on europa
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Now, with news of Saturn's icy moon Enceladus harboring a global, salty, organic nutrient-filled ocean beneath its crust, it's not hard to daydream what other ocean worlds are out there drifting through space — and what may or may not be swimming in them.

Advertisement

To boot the point, an artist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab created the "Ocean Worlds" infographic below.

Keep scrolling to get a taste of the many mysterious oceans that likely slosh around in our celestial backyard.

oceans solar system moons planets nasa infographic chart
NASA/JPL
Space
Advertisement
Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.

Jump to

  1. Main content
  2. Search
  3. Account