Gibbous Europa
Explanation:
Although the
phase
of this moon might appear familiar, the moon itself might not.
In fact, this
gibbous phase shows
part of
Jupiter's moon
Europa.
The robot spacecraft
Galileo captured
this image mosaic during its
mission orbiting Jupiter from 1995 - 2003.
Visible are
plains of
bright ice,
cracks that run to the horizon, and
dark patches
that likely contain both ice and dirt.
Raised terrain is
particularly apparent near the
terminator,
where it casts
shadows.
Europa is nearly the same size as
Earth's Moon, but much smoother, showing few
highlands or
large impact craters.
Evidence and images from the
Galileo spacecraft,
indicated that liquid oceans
might exist below the icy surface.
To test speculation that these seas hold life,
ESA has
started preliminary development of the
Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE), a
spacecraft proposed for
launch around 2022 that would further explore Jupiter and in particular Europa.
Recent observations
by the
Hubble Space Telescope
have uncovered
new evidence that Europa, like Saturn's moon
Enceladus, has
ice venting from its surface.
Budget Universe:
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(USRA)
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NASA Official: Jay Norris.
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