APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
560 Kilometers Above Europa
Explanation: This is the closest photograph ever taken of Europa . Last December, NASA's spacecraft Galileo swept past the Jovian moon and took photographs which were released yesterday . Speculation that life-bearing oceans exist beneath Europa's surface caused NASA to put Galileo on orbits that approach Europa . The above photograph shows new details on Europa's surface , indicating that much of Europa as strewn with bumps and hills of ice laced with long fractures. Dark circular features may be impact craters .
| Date | March 3, 1998 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit: Galileo Project, JPL, NASA |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |