What are the brown marks on Europa?

The dark spots are called “lenticulae,” the Latin term for freckles. Their similar sizes and spacing suggest that Europa’s icy shell may be churning away like a lava lamp, with warmer ice moving upward from the bottom of the ice shell while colder ice near the surface sinks downward.

Why are there cracks on Europa?

According to researcher Gregory Hoppa the curved cracks on Europa are caused by its orbit being slightly excentric due to the influence of Io and Ganymede (other moons of Jupiter). When Europa is farther, the tides fall because Jupiter’s force falls. This causes Europa’s ice shell to flex.”

What is the orange on Europa?

1 The Orange material seen on Europa surface is in fact a Life form, similar to the Earth’s ice Algae-Lichens plus genes of Extremophiles organisms.

What is special about Europa moon?

Europa Facts. Europa is the sixth closest moon of Jupiter and is the smallest of the Galilean moons discovered by Galileo. The other Galilean moons are Io, Ganymede and Callisto. Even though it is the smallest of the Galilean moons, Europa is still the sixth largest of the 181 moons in the solar system.

Why is there red ice on Europa?

Spectrographic evidence suggests that the dark, reddish streaks and features on Europa’s surface may be rich in salts such as magnesium sulfate, deposited by evaporating water that emerged from within.

Why is Europa’s surface smooth?

Europa is one of the smoothest objects in the Solar System. Although there are many surface features, including craters, these are few and far between. It is believed that the surface of the moon orbiting Jupiter is a series of brittle tectonic ice plates moving on top of a warmer layer of convecting ice.

How deep are the cracks on Europa?

Fractures on Europa’s icy surface formed during true polar wander. The large crack going from lower left to upper right is about 1.9 miles (3 km) wide and 200 meters (600 feet) deep.

Why does Europa have ridges?

The ridges, hills and domes are considered to be ice-rich material derived from the subsurface. These are some of the youngest features seen on the surface of Europa and could represent geologically young eruptions.

Where is Enceladus?

Saturn
Enceladus is one of the major inner satellites of Saturn along with Dione, Tethys, and Mimas. It orbits at 238,000 km from Saturn’s center and 180,000 km from its cloud tops, between the orbits of Mimas and Tethys.

What color is Europa moon?

The bright white and bluish part of Europa’s surface is composed mostly of water ice, with very few non-ice materials. In contrast, the brownish mottled regions on the right side of the image may be covered by hydrated salts and an unknown red component.

What are the dark lines on the moon Europa?

Jupiter Moon Europa’s Dark Lines May Be Salt from Underground Sea. The surface of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa is crisscrossed by mysterious reddish-brown streaks. The reddish-brown lines that crisscross the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa may be radiation-bombarded sea salt from an underground ocean, a new study suggests.

What are the mysterious reddish-brown lines on Jupiter’s moon Europa?

The surface of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa is crisscrossed by mysterious reddish-brown streaks. The reddish-brown lines that crisscross the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa may be radiation-bombarded sea salt from an underground ocean, a new study suggests.

Why does Europa have different tides than the other moons?

Because Europa’s orbit is elliptical (slightly stretched out from circular), its distance from Jupiter varies, and the moon’s near side feels Jupiter’s gravity more strongly than its far side. The magnitude of this difference changes as Europa orbits, creating tides that stretch and relax the moon’s surface.

Why does the Moon always face Jupiter when it orbits Europa?

Europa orbits Jupiter every 3.5 days and is locked by gravity to Jupiter, so the same hemisphere of the moon always faces the planet. Because Europa’s orbit is elliptical (slightly stretched out from circular), its distance from Jupiter varies, and the moon’s near side feels Jupiter’s gravity more strongly than its far side.