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PIA00852: Dome shaped features on Europa's surface
Target Name: Europa
Is a satellite of: Jupiter
Mission: Galileo
Spacecraft: Galileo Orbiter
Instrument: Solid-State Imaging
Product Size: 465 samples x 600 lines
Produced By: SwRI
Producer ID: MRPS79345
Addition Date: 1998-03-26
Primary Data Set: Galileo EDRs
Full-Res TIFF: PIA00852.tif (327.4 kB)
Full-Res JPEG: PIA00852.jpg (100.9 kB)

Click on the image to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original).

Original Caption Released with Image:
The Solid State Imaging system aboard the spacecraft Galileo took this image of the surface of Europa on February 20, 1997 during its sixth orbit around Jupiter. The image is located near 16 North, 268 West; illumination is from the lower-right. The area covered is approximately 48 miles (80 kilometers) by 56 miles (95 kilometers) across. North is toward the top of the image.

This image reveals that the icy surface of Europa has been disrupted by ridges and faults numerous times during its past. These ridges have themselves been disrupted by the localized formation of domes and other features that may be indicative of thermal upwelling of water from beneath the crust. These features provide strong evidence for the presence of subsurface liquid during Europa's recent past.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.

This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Southwest Research Institute


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