It looks really cool during the day time! It has a deep water ocean enveloped in a thick icy crust, that could potentially host life. This image from NASA’s Juno mission captures the northern hemisphere of Jupiter around the region known as Jet N7. [citation needed] One example is flexure analysis, in which Europa's crust is modeled as a plane or sphere weighted and flexed by a heavy load. [96], The Hubble Space Telescope acquired an image of Europa in 2012 that was interpreted to be a plume of water vapour erupting from near its south pole. [49], The radiation level at the surface of Europa is equivalent to a dose of about 5400 mSv (540 rem) per day,[50] an amount of radiation that would cause severe illness or death in human beings exposed for a single Earth-day (24 hours). The spacecraft will use multiple flybys of the moon to investigate the habitability of this ocean world. [129][150] It was part of Project Prometheus. Tidal forces are thought to generate the heat that keeps Europa's ocean liquid, and a tilt in the spin axis would cause more heat to be generated by tidal forces. [28], The names fell out of favor for a considerable time and were not revived in general use until the mid-20th century. Subsurface Ocean. It will now slightly alter its orbital path around Jupiter to get a good look at Jupiter’s giant moon Ganymede in June 2021. In a press release from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory referencing the study, these suggested sources for Europa's plumes would potentially be less hospitable to life. [92][93] Their results indicate that most of the heat generated by the ice actually comes from the ice's crystalline structure (lattice) as a result of deformation, and not friction between the ice grains. [145] In 2009 it was given priority over Titan Saturn System Mission. [46][47] Europa's icy crust has an albedo (light reflectivity) of 0.64, one of the highest of all moons. 9 The plumes, photographed by NASA's Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, were seen in silhouette as the moon passed in front of Jupiter. The most plausible candidate for this role is a large subsurface ocean of liquid saltwater. Hubble’s ultraviolet sensitivity allowed for the features -- rising over 100 miles (160 kilometers) above Europa’s icy surface -- to be discerned. [69] The best evidence for the thick-ice model is a study of Europa's large craters. [151], Europa Orbiter – Its objective would be to characterize the extent of the ocean and its relation to the deeper interior. Europa has been featured in short stories, comics and novels, with perhaps the best-known being the Arthur C. Clarke novel “2010: Odyssey Two,” which was also adapted for film. [66][67], The Galileo orbiter found that Europa has a weak magnetic moment, which is induced by the varying part of the Jovian magnetic field. [165] Life on Europa could exist clustered around hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor, or below the ocean floor, where endoliths are known to inhabit on Earth. A full revolution of the outer rigid shell relative to the interior of Europa takes at least 12,000 years. The larger bands are more than 20 km (12 mi) across, often with dark, diffuse outer edges, regular striations, and a central band of lighter material. However, most planetary scientists conclude that this model considers only those topmost layers of Europa's crust that behave elastically when affected by Jupiter's tides. Most of us have a very special place for Europa in our hearts. This may be important in determining whether Europa could be habitable. Popular Destination [66][67], Scientists' consensus is that a layer of liquid water exists beneath Europa's surface, and that heat from tidal flexing allows the subsurface ocean to remain liquid. If the ice shell of Europa is really only a few kilometers thick, this "thin ice" model would mean that regular contact of the liquid interior with the surface could occur through open ridges, causing the formation of areas of chaotic terrain. This "neutral cloud" has been detected by both the Cassini and Galileo spacecraft, and has a greater content (number of atoms and molecules) than the neutral cloud surrounding Jupiter's inner moon Io. [166] If Europa's ocean is too cold, biological processes similar to those known on Earth could not take place. Galileo flew by Europa in 1997 within 206 km (128 mi) of the moon's surface and the researchers suggest it may have flown through a water plume. The second [moon] is called by me Europa... Io, Europa, the boy Ganymede, and Callisto greatly pleased lustful Jupiter. Jupiter's moon Europa hides a secret under his thick water-ice crust: An ocean that consists of salty seawater. Europa Rising. The study's model, using images from the Galileo space probe, proposed that a combination of freezing and pressurization may result in at least some of the cryovolcanism activity. Dr. Lori Glaze The most likely hypothesis is that the lineae on Europa were produced by a series of eruptions of warm ice as the Europan crust spread open to expose warmer layers beneath. Because Europa is tidally locked to Jupiter, and therefore always maintains approximately the same orientation towards Jupiter, the stress patterns should form a distinctive and predictable pattern. Experiments and ice modeling published in 2016, indicate that tidal flexing dissipation can generate one order of magnitude more heat in Europa's ice than scientists had previously assumed. It has a very thin atmosphere, composed primarily of oxygen. Directed by Kornél Mundruczó. Europa has an extremely thin oxygen atmosphere — far too thin for humans to breathe. Jupiter zaps Europa’s surface night and day with electrons and other particles, bathing […] It is crisscrossed by fractures. The adjectival form has stabilized as Europan. [19], The tidal forces are about 1,000 times stronger than the Moon's effect on Earth. "But because it's bombarded by the radiation from Jupiter, it glows in the dark." [126] In 2007, New Horizons imaged Europa, as it flew by the Jovian system while on its way to Pluto. NASA/JPL-Caltech. Updated 1614 GMT (0014 HKT) November 9, 2020 . Europa rotates once on its axis and completes one orbit of Jupiter every 3.5 Earth days, so the same side of Europa always faces Jupiter. Europa's subsurface ocean might contain more than twice as much water as Earth Schaber (1982) "Geology of Europa", in David Morrison, ed., Schenk, Paul M.; Chapman, Clark R.; Zahnle, Kevin; and Moore, Jeffrey M. (2004), Ringwald, Frederick A. 8 It’s also much colder — scientists estimate that the surface temperature of Europa averages around 162 below zero Celsius. the Galilean moons, consisting of Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto – are nothing if not fascinating. Jupiter's icy moon Europa is considered one of only a few bodies in our solar system that has the potential to host some form of life. As a result, Jupiter slams its moon, Europa, with a steady blast of high-energy radiation. There May Be Life on Europa. Europa has the smoothest surface of any known solid object in the Solar System. Europa is the smallest of Jupiter’s four Galilean moons — those discovered by the astronomer Galileo Galilei in 1609 — and is roughly the size of the Earth’s moon. 4 The effect is more than just a cool visual. Its surface is striated by cracks and streaks, but craters are relatively few. [40], Since the Voyager spacecraft flew past Europa in 1979, scientists have worked to understand the composition of the reddish-brown material that coats fractures and other geologically youthful features on Europa's surface. Social Media Lead: [166] In 2010, a model proposed by Richard Greenberg of the University of Arizona proposed that irradiation of ice on Europa's surface could saturate its crust with oxygen and peroxide, which could then be transported by tectonic processes into the interior ocean. For Artemis astronauts traveling to the Moon, two space weather instrument suites, NASA’s HERMES and ESA’s ERSA, will provide an early forecast. [114][115][116] The surface pressure of Europa's atmosphere is 0.1 μPa, or 10−12 times that of the Earth. Fascinating Facts About Jupiter’s Moon Europa 1. It is crisscrossed by fractures. [127], Conjectures regarding extraterrestrial life have ensured a high profile for Europa and have led to steady lobbying for future missions. [17] In addition, the Hubble Space Telescope detected water vapor plumes similar to those observed on Saturn's moon Enceladus, which are thought to be caused by erupting cryogeysers. Aryan is a Syrian refugee trying to make his way into Hungary from Serbia, along with his father and many other wretched souls. As Europa comes slightly nearer to Jupiter, Jupiter's gravitational attraction increases, causing Europa to elongate towards and away from it. The ice-covered world may have liquid water, energy, and organic compounds – all three of the ingredients necessary for life to survive. 6 [15][68] Europa's surface temperature averages about 110 K (−160 °C; −260 °F) at the equator and only 50 K (−220 °C; −370 °F) at the poles, keeping Europa's icy crust as hard as granite. Like Earth, Europa is thought to also contain a rocky mantle and iron core. [60] The smooth, dark spots could be formed by meltwater released when the warm ice breaks through the surface. Europa /jʊˈroʊpə/ (listen), or Jupiter II, is the smallest of the four Galilean moons orbiting Jupiter, and the sixth-closest to the planet of all the 79 known moons of Jupiter. Jupiter is a powerful source of radio waves in the night sky. This composite image shows suspected plumes of water vapor erupting at the 7 o'clock position off the limb of Jupiter's moon Europa. Sheet, the second of the glow may help scientist identify Europa 's subsurface ocean liquid... 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