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This image of the Jovian moon Europa was taken by Voyager 2 along the terminator in length.

JPL1979-07-09

NASA

NASA
Washington, DC, United States

This image of the Jovian moon Europa was taken by Voyager 2 along the evening terminator, which best shows the surface topography of complex narrow ridges, seen as curved bright streaks, 5 to 10 kilometers wide, and typically 100 kilometers in length. The area shown is about 600 by 800 kilometers, and the smallest features visible are about 4 kilometers in size. Also visable are dark bands, more diffused in character, 20 to 40 kilometers wide and hundreds to thousands of kilometers in length. A few features are suggestive of impact craters but are rare, indication that the surface thought to be dominantly ice is still active, perhaps warmed by tidal heating like Io. The larger icy satellites, Callisto and Ganymede, are evidently colder with much more rigid crusts and ancient impact craters. The complex intersection of dark markings and bright ridges suggest that the surface has been fractured and material from beneath has welled up to fill the cracks.

Details

  • Title: This image of the Jovian moon Europa was taken by Voyager 2 along the terminator in length.
  • Creator: JPL
  • Date Created: 1979-07-09
  • Owner: ARC
  • Album: edrobin1
  • About Title: To help you find images you’re searching for, previously untitled images have been labelled automatically based on their description

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