APOD: Galileo's Europa (2023 May 20)

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APOD Robot
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APOD: Galileo's Europa (2023 May 20)

Post by APOD Robot » Sat May 20, 2023 4:09 am

Image Galileo's Europa

Explanation: Looping through the Jovian system in the late 1990s, the Galileo spacecraft recorded stunning views of Europa and uncovered evidence that the moon's icy surface likely hides a deep, global ocean. Galileo's Europa image data has been remastered here, with improved calibrations to produce a color image approximating what the human eye might see. Europa's long curving fractures hint at the subsurface liquid water. The tidal flexing the large moon experiences in its elliptical orbit around Jupiter supplies the energy to keep the ocean liquid. But more tantalizing is the possibility that even in the absence of sunlight that process could also supply the energy to support life, making Europa one of the best places to look for life beyond Earth. What kind of life could thrive in a deep, dark, subsurface ocean? Consider planet Earth's own extreme shrimp.

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Rauf
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Re: APOD: Galileo's Europa (2023 May 20)

Post by Rauf » Sat May 20, 2023 6:46 am

I hope this isn't what's hiding under Europa's icy surface :)
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Europa Report (2013)
Europa Report (2013)

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orin stepanek
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Re: APOD: Galileo's Europa (2023 May 20)

Post by orin stepanek » Sat May 20, 2023 1:23 pm

habitableMoons_heller1_900.jpg
Amazing that some of the fractures on Europa are
perfect 90 degree! :shock:
Orin

Smile today; tomorrow's another day!

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