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Europa, Moon of Jupiter

Europa is a Moon that orbits round the planet Jupiter.

Its mass is estimated/calculated at being 47,998,438,387,492,700,000,000 kg. Its density has been calculated at being 3.013. Its volume is 15926867918.



The orbital period, i.e. the period it takes to complete an orbit round Jupiter is 3.55118 days. The figure is also known as the sidereel period. The figure comes from N.A.S.A..

The Equatorial Radius of the object is 1561km. The value is the radius in km of the said object at the Equator.

The Escape Velocity of the object is 7,293 km/h. The Escape Velocity is the speed an object needs to be travelling in order to break free from the objects gravity. The larger an object is, the more velocity (speed) is needed to break free from the object.The Semi-Major Axis of the orbit is 671.1, which is the furthest point from the centre to the edge of an elliptical point.

The atmospheric gases within the atmosphere of the object are Oxygen.

The equatorial circumference of Europa is 9806.8 km. The surface area of Europa is 30,612,893.23. The surface gravity of the said item is 1.315. The Mean orbit velocity, that is the speed at which it orbits is 49476.10 km/h. The is the average distance in km of the object is from its parent 671100.00.

The orbital inclination, the angle at which Europa orbits in relation to the orbital plane is 0.47 degrees. The orbital eccentricity is 0.0094, it is the degree at which Europa orbits close to a circular (0) orbit as opposed to an elliptical (1) orbit.

Evidence of Water and maybe Life on Europa

Now, don't get your hopes up too high. There is a slim chance of possibly life on the moon. The basis of life on the basis that there could be an underground water supply. When the Galileo space probe visited the moon, it found that the moon was affecting the magnetic field of Jupiter. It was concluded that the magnetic field might be being influenced by a magnetic field from Europa. They deduced that the moon might as a result have an underground water supply. Future missions hope to discover more about the moon. Where there's water, there could be life. We're not talking highly intelligent life-forms like on Earth but simple celled creatures or insects at most. Fingers crossed though. NASA

Europa Discovery

Europa, not to be confused with the continent of the similar name is a moon orbiting Jupiter and is referred to as a Galilean moon. Galilean moons are those moons in orbit round Jupiter that was spotted by Galileo Galilei, the Italian astronomer who is credited with building the telescope. Galileo discovered four moons of Jupiter, in addition to Europa, the others are Ganymede, Callisto and Io. All the moons. They were originally named numbers, it was only hundreds of years later that they would be given more easily to remember names. The Galilean moons named after Greek mythological characters.

It is the smallest of the Galilean moons but is the sixth largest in . The largest Galilean moon for the record is in fact Ganymede. Ganymede is the largest moon of any planet including the Earth's moon.

A Space Odyssey

The moon Europa features heavily in the Arthur C. Clarke stories starting from the second one, 2010. At the end of the second story, the astronauts are advised not to come to Europa, they can have any other planet or moon but not Europa. In the sequels, humans make contact with the Europans.

Europa Mythology

There are two stories about the character Europa. The first had Europa as a daughter to Phoenix. The second story has her as a princess that was seduced and kidnapped by Zeus disguised as a bull, although not Taurus, that's another story. Europa would later conceive three children with Zeus, Minos, Sarpedon and Rhadamanthys.

Agenor, Europa's father sent out his sons Cadmus, Phoenix, Cylix, Thasus and Phineus to go rescue Europa. The sons were told not to return without their sister. As they never found her, none of them returned. Europe is believed to have taken its name from Europa. Myth Index

Galilean Moons Moon Group

Galilean Moons are the four largest moons that orbit Jupiter. All four were discovered by Galileo Galilei when he looked up at Jupiter. Galileo is the Italian Astronomer who is credited with inventing the telescope.

List of Members in Galilean Moons Group

Callisto

Europa

Ganymede

Io

Path of Europa Orbit

If the white lines are above, then the path of the object is under the ecliptic. If the white lines are below, the path is above the ecliptic. This refers to the Inclination of the object. The image was created using N.A.S.A. Solar System Dynamics.

Europa Facts