This picture shows two images of Europa taken by the Galileo spacecraft. One taken in natural light (to the left), and the other with colors enhanced by computer.
Click on image for full size
NASA

Europa

Europa was first discovered by Galileo in 1610, making it one of the Galilean Satellites. It is Jupiter's 4th largest moon, 670,900 km ( miles) from Jupiter. Europa's diameter is about half the distance across the United States, 3138 km (1950 miles), and is close to the same size as the Earth's moon (click here to learn more about Earth's Moon and Europa).

Europa is named after one of Jupiter's many girlfriends from Greek mythology. The Galileo spacecraft discovered that there may be an ocean under its icy surface! The last time an ocean was discovered was the Pacific Ocean, 500 years ago. This means Europa is one of the few moons in the solar system that may have liquid water, which scientists think is friendly to life. The surface has many neat features, even though it is mainly made of ice. Europa also has a very thin atmosphere.
Last modified September 17, 2003 by Roberta Johnson.

You might also be interested in:

Cool It! Game

Check out our online store - minerals, fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items!...more

Galilean Satellites

The Galilean satellites are the 4 big moons of Jupiter, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. These moons are called Galilean because they were discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610. In this picture, Io,...more

Europa

Europa was a beautiful princess. According to Greek mythology, Europa was seduced by Zeus, the king of the gods. Zeus fell in love with Europa after seeing her gathering flowers by the sea. Zeus changed...more

Galileo

Galileo was a spacecraft that orbited Jupiter for eight years. It made many discoveries about Jupiter and its moons. Galileo was launched in 1989, and reached Jupiter in 1995. The spacecraft had two parts....more

Does Europa Have an Ocean?

The surface of Europa shows many signs of that there may be an ocean hidden underneath: * flooded areas * 'freckles' * 'rafting' * 'mushy' craters, and * regions of spreading. These clues make it pretty...more

Surface of Europa

Many exciting discoveries were made about Europa during the Galileo mission. The surface of Europa is unusual, even for an icy moon. It appears that the surface is pretty new, rather than being ancient....more

Interior of Europa

The diagram to the left shows the possible interior of Europa. The composition of the icy moons is mostly ice, therefore there is probably a small core of rocky material buried inside, covered with ice....more

The Atmosphere of Europa

The Galileo mission discovered an amazing thing! Europa has its own atmosphere, although it is very, very thin. When fast moving molecules traveling through space near Jupiter hit Europa's atmosphere,...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA