Jupiter has seven natural satellites or moons, all of different sizes and characteristics. Inside them is Europe (satelite), a fantastic star that you are interested in learning about, in this article you will get all the information about this icy satellite of the solar system.
Description
Europa (satellite), is one of the four satellites that make up the well-known "Galilean satellites" of Jupiter, being the smallest of these four and number six in distance from the planet. Altogether the Planet Jupiter It has six natural satellites.
It is a little smaller than the moon of planet Earth, made up of silicate minerals (salt with a base), its crust is made of ice, which is why it is also known as "Jupiter's icy satellite”, its center is made of iron and nickel, in its atmosphere there are gases such as oxygen.
The surface of Europa (satellite) is furrowed, with cracks and craters in an unconventional way, however, this satellite has the flattest crust of any other satellite in the solar system. This strange surface has led experts to believe that a sea can coexist within this satellite that maintains the smoothness of its surface, which could harbor life.
In September 2014, NASA experts informed the world that through tests carried out on the ice crust of Europa, signs of possible tectonic plates were found. There was no other geological evidence of this type on a planet other than Earth.
These geological characteristics have given rise to new investigations, such as those carried out in May 2015, where it was determined that if the ocean that is inside this planet is real, this natural satellite could be optimal for hosting life.
Galilean Satellites (History)
Galilean satellites are known as four of those that Jupiter possesses, which owe their name to the fact that they were discovered by the astronomer and philosopher Galileo Galilei, in January 1610, these are part of a set of six Jupiter satellites totals.
Galilei observing Jupiter realized that these stars revolved around the planet, it was there that he concluded that they were moons or natural satellites, as evidenced in his diary.
These four satellites are the largest of the six that make up Jupiter's moons, and can be observed from Earth very easily without the need for a professional telescope. At the time of their discovery they were given the names of Jupiter I, II, III and IV, according to the distance they had from the planet, a year later, the astronomer Marius, gave them the name of Io, Ganymede, Callisto and Europa, the latter being the smallest of the Galilean satellites.
Europa (satellite), also known as “Jupiter's moon Europa”, is the satellite number six in terms of proximity and the sixth largest in the solar system.
Io
Composed mostly of Sulphur. It is the closest to Jupiter of the four Galilean satellites, it has constant volcanic activity due to the strong tides caused by the gravitational interaction with Jupiter, which are extremely strong, as a result, this satellite does not have craters.
Ganymede
It is the largest satellite of Jupiter and the largest in the solar system. Composed of Silicate and ice, with a layer of frozen liquid that remains suspended on the mantle of swamp present on its surface.
It was discovered in 2015 that this satellite has an ocean hidden under its facet, covered by an icy layer 150 km thick, the ocean has a depth of approximately 100 km, greater than the oceans of planet Earth.
Calisto
It is the moon of Jupiter that is farthest from him, it has a very worn and old surface, with multiple craters that cover it almost entirely.
Europe
It is the smallest, but the most studied by scientists, due to its interesting characteristics, covered by ice and very few craters, it is presumed that under that thick layer of ice there must be a salty ocean, which could harbor life due to its high oxygen concentration.
Movement
Europa (satellite) takes approximately 60 hours to revolve around the planet Jupiter, with an orbital radius of 670.900 km, with an ecliptic eccentricity (almost circular) of 0,009 and an inclination of 0.470 degrees with respect to the equator, equal to that of the other Galilean satellites, one side of Europa always faces Jupiter during its orbit.
The ecliptic eccentricity of Europa is determined by the gravitational revolts of the other satellites, this causes Europa's ecliptic to constantly stretch and stretch during its orbit.
During its orbit, Europa approaches Jupiter, increasing the gravitational attraction, which causes Europa's ecliptic to lengthen, on the contrary when Europa moves away from Jupiter, the gravitational attraction decreases, causing the ecliptic to return to its normal shape. (almost circular), all these movements create tides in the ocean of Europa (satellite).
The orbital resonance of Europa with the Io satellite is what drives Europa's ecliptic eccentricity, causing multiple tides inside the satellite that maintain the liquid ocean. Jupiter's rotation is the source of energy that generates these tides and they are transferred to Europa, Io and Ganymede by orbital resonance.
Characteristics of the Europa Moon
The Europa satellite has one of the most fascinating structures, surfaces and atmospheres in the world of astronomy.
Structure
Europa (satellite) is composed mostly of siliceous rocks, covered by a crust of water in the form of ice of approximately 100 km and below this it is presumed that its surface is formed by an ocean of salt water, it is suspected that the core is made of iron.
Recent studies determined that it is very likely that there is a liquid surface on Europa, due to the magnetic field that is formed through its interaction with Jupiter's magnetic field.
Europa's magnetic field is weak, it only reaches a quarter of the intensity of the magnetism of Ganymede and Callisto, this intensity can vary at the time it crosses the magnetic field of Jupiter. In 1998, NASA, collecting all the information left by Galileo and with the explorations carried out by them, determined that there is a magnetic conduction material in Europa, the most likely being the existence of an ocean.
Red areas can be seen on the surface of Europa, in addition to other peculiarities that make scientists think that the surface of this satellite is mostly composed of salty minerals, such as magnesium sulfate, which must be lodged in the water present on the planet and that move abroad when it evaporates.
In general, the salts are hyaline (transparent) or white, so it is presumed that there must be another mineral or substance that gives it that red color, it may be sulfide from the Io satellite or another component derived from iron.
In 2013, fumaroles were sighted rising from the surface of Europa, which confirmed the vast majority of theories that presumed the existence of salty water on the surface.
These observations were compared with the data obtained from the Galileo probe, which approaches about 400 km, where variations in the magnetic field of Europa (satellite) were observed, registering decreases of up to 200 nt, in turn with an increase in the consistency of the plasma. up to 2000cm3.
It was determined that the measurements made could be related to the expulsion of smoke from a geyser (torrent) of liquid water present on its surface.
In total area
Europa's surface is flat, with interlocking markings, apparently formed by differences in the percentage of settlement, with very poor vertical relief. It has few craters and these are small, reaching a maximum of 5 km, one of them is the Pwyll crater that measures approximately 39 km.
The reflection of Europa is one of the largest of all the moons, which indicates that the facet of this satellite is still young and very active, it is presumed that Europa should not exceed thirty million years of existence, this determined by the crash of comets that are most likely endured by Europe.
Its characteristics of little relief and very marked grooves are compared with those of the frozen ocean of the Earth, for which it is thought that under the ice cap of Europa there must be a mass of liquid water, which is maintained in this state by the heat produced by gravitational tidal movements on Jupiter.
Europa's surface temperature reaches -163° centigrade at the equator and -223° centigrade at the extremes, the craters appear to be filled with frozen water, this plus the heat generated by the tides, presume that this thickness of the solid ice crust is approximately 30 km, which means that the ocean would be at a depth of more than 90 km.
Among the elements that most characterize the surface of Europa (satellite) is a chain of dark mineral layers that are intertwined throughout the entire length of the moon, resembling the cracks in sea ice present on Earth. Europa's crust reflects at its ends the displacements of the cracks from their original shape.
The largest strips reach 20 km, from one end to the other, being these more indefinite on their shores, in addition to having regular striations. The central stripe is made up of a more soluble component, which is presumed to be the result of eruptions of water volcanoes or geysers, which, when the surface opens up, expose the hottest stripes in the interior.
This could be compared to the surface that occurs in the rear ridge of the earth's oceans, also known as the "Rift zone".
Europa being anchored to Jupiter by tide (as well as the moon to the earth), which is constantly up and down, generating movements of up to 30 meters on the surface, creating the cracks that determine the physical characteristics of Europa.
The most recent cracks that Europa has must be determined by this phenomenon, others seem to be related to different events because of how old they are. This would be determined by a highly accelerated movement of the surface of Europa in relation to its interior, an event possible due to the movements of the ocean inside it, which decouple the mantle of rocks from the moon and the gravity exerted by Jupiter on the outer layer of Europa. .
Another peculiarity of the surface of Europa are the lunar-like spots, which can be seen on its surface from the ground, and may be holes, caverns or simply flat spots, others, however, have irregular edges. The surface of the turrets are seen as pieces of ancient plains.
One theory suggests that the domes were created by hot ice cubes rising, leaving cooler ice below, a process similar to what happens in magma craters on Earth.
The spots appear to have been formed by liquid water, which travels inland when the ice surface breaks; Irregular moles are presumably born from the union of small fragments of crust that are located on the surface of the spots, like icebergs in the sea.
There is another theory that suggests that moles are "Chaos" areas, perfectly delimited, with a notched and brittle surface; the spots and domes would then be the result of misinterpretation of the images, resulting in Europa's thick ice sheet being extremely thin and unable to withstand deformation.
Atmosphere
Recent research reveals that Europa's atmosphere is actually very light, about 12 bar pressure, made up of oxygen and other gases.
Of the natural satellites that make up the solar system, only seven are known to have an atmosphere, among which are four of Jupiter's satellites (Io, Ganymede, Callisto and Europa). Despite having oxygen, this, unlike that of the earth, is a non-biological oxygen.
The most successful thing is that this oxygen is formed by the sun's rays and the particles that crash on the ice surface, which generates water vapor, which is divided into hydrogen and oxygen, the first component escaping Europa's gravity , but oxygen does not.
Craters
Because it has a very young and smooth surface, there are not many impact craters that can be found on its surface, there is also a theory that this satellite is covered by a layer of ice and under it a liquid surface, it is very possible that the craters are filled with water.
These are the craters so far discovered on the surface of Europa (satellite) and its eponym:
- Aine (Aine)
- Amergine (Amergine)
- Angus
- Avagddu (Avagddu)
- Balor (Balor)
- Brigid
- Camulus
- Cilix (Cylix)
- Cliodhna (Cliodhna)
- Cormac (Cormac mac Airt)
- Deirdre (Deirdre)
- Diarmuid (Diarmuid Ua Duibhne)
- Dylan (Dylan Eil Ton)
- Elathan (Elathan)
- Govannan (Govannan)
- Grainne (Grainne)
- Gwydion (Gwydion)
- Llyr (Llyr)
- Mael Duin (Mael Duin)
- Maeve (Maeve)
- Manannan (Manannan mac Lir)
- Math (Math ap Mathonwy)
- Morvran (Morvran)
- Niamh (Niamh)
- Oisin (Oisin)
- Pryderi (Pryderi)
- Pwyll
- Rhiannon (Rhiannon)
- Taliesin (Taliesin)
- Tegid (Tegid Veol)
- Uaithne (Uaithne).
Is there life in Europe?
There is no evidence to support the theory that life could exist on the Europa satellite. There is talk of the proposal that some kind of life may exist in the ocean below the Europa ice cap, based on the similarities that this surface has with those present at the bottom of the seas of planet Earth, such as the conditions present in volcanic craters and Lake Vostok in Antarctica.
Despite having no basis that this may be possible, they have spared no effort to prevent contamination on the satellite.
NASA's Galileo operation ended in 2003, when a spacecraft collided on Jupiter, which if it had not been abandoned, could have hit Europa, contaminating its entire surface with microorganisms from the earth. If this had happened, it would never have been possible to determine the possible existence of biological organisms in Europe.
In the most recent analyzes it has been determined that Europa (satellite) has a large amount of water in a liquid state with a high concentration of oxygen, which exceeds the amount present in the Earth's oceans, which for scientists would allow sustainable life. microorganisms and more complex life forms.
Scientists such as Makuch refer that microorganisms very similar to those on Earth could live at the bottom of Europa's ocean in the form of fumaroles, but these being insufficient, it is not feasible for more complex forms of life to exist, because they could not be more larger than a gram of mass.
Scans
They began in the years 1973 and 1974 with the overflights of the Pioneer 10 and 11 probes, the photos taken in these explorations were of very poor quality, which did not allow much information to be determined. The Voyager mission passed through Jupiter's orbit in 1979, collecting highly detailed pictures of Europa's icy surface.
With these images began suspicions of the existence of an ocean below Europa's crust. For eight years (95-03), the Galileo probe remained around Jupiter, this being the most current and recognized tour of the so-called Galilean satellites until now.
Other explorations were the Galileo Europa Mission and the Millennium Galileo Mission, with many trips close to the orbit of Europa, by the year 2007 it was possible to take a photograph of Europa while it was passing the Jovian system on its way to Pluto.
Future Missions
The new era of life off the ground has drawn attention directly to Europe, being of great interest to future missions, driven by political pressure.
The explorations would be directed to examinations of the chemical composition of Europa and the search for life in the still supposed subsurface ocean. These missions commanded by robots will have to resist the high radiation that surrounds the satellite and Jupiter. The radiation received by Europe exceeds 5.4 sv daily.
JUICE
The European Space Agency, set up the "Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer" (JUICE) program with which they plan to make observations in Europe, their expulsion is expected to be in the year 2022.
scientific objectives
Destined to carry out research on Ganymede, not as a satellite but as a planetary body, evaluating in turn the possibility of the existence and sustainability of life on it.
The investigations in Europa and Calisto will be carried out to a lesser extent but with the same objective, the search for the existence of living microorganisms and their chemical structure.
Europa Clipper
The Europa Clipper program is estimated to reach Europa's orbit in 2025, with astrobiological missions, seeking signs of life as its main objective.
scientific objectives
Its main objective is to explore Europa, determine its habitability and check if it has the conditions for future landings on its surface. Other specific objectives include:
- Corroborate the presence of oceans and identify water habitat within or below the ice, as well as surface-ice-ocean compensation methods.
- Distribution and chemistry of the compounds on its surface and its relationship with the composition of the ocean.
- Characteristics and conformation of surface geographic events
Adaptations of Europe
Europa (satellite) represented a relevant element in the film adaptation and the book by author Arthur Clarke, in 2010, called "Odyssey II" and its sequel.
It tells the story of very advanced extraterrestrial life, which shows interest in the archaic life forms under the frozen crust of Europa, through rocks that transform the planet Jupiter into a star, which they call Lucifer, to increase the evolution of the Europeans. In the adaptation "Odyssey III", in the year 2061 Europe is transformed into a tropical ocean.
In Greg Bear's literary work "The Forge of God" in 1987, the story is told that Europa is devastated by aliens, two large ice fragments from Europa are used to be launched into space to impact Mars.
The film Europa Report, released in 2013, creates the plot that the Europa satellite is visited on a “Europa One” mission with the aim of finding any sign of living microorganisms.
There is another adaptation of Europe, this time in a video game, present the campaign mode of "Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare", where Europe is the scene of some missions, also in the multiple player mode, a game map defined as the research center located on the frozen crust of Europa.
Another video game is "Barotrauma" in a 2D version, which takes place in the ocean of Europa and the Jupiter Rings, in which the participant meets different terrifying characters who live there.
If you are interested, we also recommend this article in which you will learn How many rings does Jupiter have? and everything about them.