An image of Europa's surface, showing many features indicating the presence of a submerged ocean
Click on image for full size
Image courtesy of NASA
Does Europa Have an Ocean?
The surface of Europa shows many signs of that there may be an ocean under the surface:
*
flooded terrain
*
'freckles'
*
rafting
*
'mushy' craters, and
*
spreading centers.
Taken together, these pieces of evidence show that there probably an ocean under the icy surface of Europa.
You might also be interested in:
This is an example of the surface of Europa. The surface may be flooded by fresh water from underground, which freezes when it touches the surface. The edges of the flow are rounded, like a puddle of water.
...moreThe surface of Europa shows many signs that there may be an ocean submerged under it's icy surface. For example, in this picture, the dimples, shown in red, may be a sign of material falling into a water
...moreThe surface of Europa shows many signs of that there may be a submerged ocean. For example, this picture shows what look like icebergs that may have broken off from a larger block of ice, floated a bit,
...moreEuropa was first discovered by Galileo in 1610, making it one of the Galilean Satellites. It is Jupiter's 4th largest moon, 670,900 km from Jupiter. With a diameter that is about half the distance across
...moreThe picture to the left shows examples of the many amazing different surface features of Europa. Many exciting discoveries were made about Europa during the Galileo mission. The surface of Europa is unusual,
...moreThe Galileo spacecraft was launched on October 19, 1989. Galileo had two parts: an orbiter and a descent probe that parachuted into Jupiter's atmosphere. Galileo's main mission was to explore Jupiter and
...moreAmalthea was discovered by E Barnard in 1872. Of the 17 moons it is the 3rd closest to Jupiter, with a standoff distance of 181,300 km. Amalthea is about the size of a county or small state, and is just
...more