Tidal flexing from Earth's gravity heats a hypothetical rocky core,
driving hydrothermal vents that inject warm, mineral-rich water into a
dark ocean sealed beneath kilometres of ice — the same mechanism proposed
for Europa and Enceladus. This flat cross-section view plots the same
formulas as the 3D cutaway: microbe-like particles cluster where plume
heat and chemical energy are highest.
tidal_heat ∝ (flex_amplitude)² · μ / viscosity
vent_flux = heat_output / (4π·r²)
habitability ∝ energy_flux · (1 − shell_thickness/shell_max)
- Ice shell thickness — thicker shells insulate the ocean but also throttle tidal flexing energy reaching the surface.
- Vent heat output — power of the hydrothermal system; higher output drives a taller, faster plume.
- Tidal flexing — cyclic squeezing from orbital eccentricity; the dominant heat source for a subsurface ocean this far from the Sun.