Europa- Jupiter's moon
By: Shreya Patel
Physical properties
Jupiter has four large moons and Europa is the smallest of them all, about the size of our earth's moon but slightly smaller. The surface consists of an icy crust as hard as rock in temperatures that can go to 200 degrees centigrade below zero and Galileo discovers that it looks very similar to Earth's arctic regions. Scientists also believe that there may be warm ocean water under the icy surface. heat and water are conducive to life.
The Great Lakes of Europa
ScienceCasts: The Great Lakes of Europa
Location and Movement
Europa is the second closest moon to Jupiter. the distance from the moon is 485 million miles and it takes three and a half days to orbit jupiter. Europa doen't orbit Jupiter in a circle, but in a slight oval shape.
Europa
Europa was discovered by galileo galilei and it was the first time that they had discovered a moon that orbits a planet other than Earth. The same side of the moon faces Jupiter at all times. Under Europa's crust, there may be key ingredients required to create a habitable environment.
New Life?
one of the biggest evidence that there may be water under the surface is the saltiness in the frozen land. the energy might be going under Europa's surface so there is a chance that there might be life existing in the water. the water is estimated to be about 60 miles deep.
EUROPA LAKE: Nasa 'discovers' liquid water on Jupiter moon