Imaged by the Galileo spacecraft, this stunning photo of the intriguing and icy world, Europa, one of Jupiter's largest moons, has been the subject of considerable speculation for many years and played a pivotal role in the sci-fi film, 2010.
ScienceDaily (Aug. 7, 2008) — With average temperatures of minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit, an almost nonexistent atmosphere and a complex web of cracks in a layer of ice encompassing the entire surface, the environment on Jupiter’s moon Europa is about as alien as they come.
So are the enormous forces behind the surface display, namely an ocean beneath the ice nine times deeper than Earth’s deepest ocean trench and gravitational affects from a planet 318 times the mass of Earth.
For nearly a decade, it has been Simon Kattenhorn’s passion to understand the amazing surface features on Europa and how they are formed. And supported by new grants from NASA, his research may provide clues to one of Mankind’s biggest questions—is there life outside of Earth?
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