Surface features of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa are revealed in an image acquired by the Juno Stellar Reference Unit (SRU) during the spacecraft flyby on September 29, 2022. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI
Observations of the moon’s passage by the spacecraft provided the first close-up in more than two decades of this ocean world, resulting in wonderful images and a unique flag.
The highest-resolution image ever taken by NASA’s Juno mission of a specific part of Jupiter’s moon Europa reveals a detailed view of a bewildering region of the moon’s deeply fractured ice crust.
The image covers about 93 miles (150 kilometers) by 125 miles (200 kilometers) from Europa’s surface, revealing a region wrinkled with a network of fine edges and double edges (pairs of long parallel lines indicating features high in the ice). Near the upper right corner of the image, as well as to the right and down the center, are dark spots that are likely related to something underneath that has exploded onto the surface. Below the center and to the right is a surface feature reminiscent of a quarter note, measuring 42 miles (67 kilometers) from north to south by 23 miles (37 kilometers) from east to west. The white dots in the image are signals of high-energy particles penetrating the harsh radioactive environment around the Moon.
Juno’s Stellar Reference Module (SRU) – a stellar camera used to guide the spacecraft – acquired the black-and-white image as the spacecraft flew over Europe on September 29, 2022, at a distance of approximately 256 miles (412 kilometres). At a resolution of 840 to 1,115 feet (256 to 340 metres) per pixel, the image was taken as Juno was passing at approximately 15 miles per second (24 kilometers per second) over a portion of the surface that was at night, dimly lit by “Jupiter’s brilliance” Reflection of sunlight from the tops of Jupiter’s cloud.
Designed for low-light conditions, the SRU has proven an invaluable scientific tool, as it detects shallow flashes in Jupiter’s atmosphere, visualizes Jupiter’s enigmatic ring system, and now provides insight into some of the most fascinating formations at geological sites in Europe.
“This image reveals an astonishing level of detail in an area that has never before been photographed at such high resolution and under floodlight conditions,” said SRU Associate Principal Investigator, Heidi Becker. “The team’s use of the Star Tracking Camera for Science is a great example of Juno’s pioneering capabilities. These features are very interesting. Understanding how it was formed and how it relates to history from Europe tells us about the internal and external processes that make up the ice crust.”
It won’t be Juneau University scientists alone who will be busy analyzing the data in the coming weeks. During Juno’s 45th orbit around Jupiter, all of the spacecraft’s science instruments were collecting data during Europa’s flyby and then again when Juno flew past Jupiter’s poles 7½ hours later.
Juno’s principal investigator, Scott Bolton, of Juno Corporation, said the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. “With this flyby of Europa, Juno has now seen close-ups of two of Jupiter’s most interesting moons, their icy crusts very different from each other. In 2023, Io, the most volcanic object in the solar system, will join the club.” Juno sailed close to Jupiter’s moon Ganymede, the solar system’s largest moon, in June 2021.
Europe is solar systemIt is the sixth largest moon, about 90% of the Earth’s equatorial diameter the moon. Scientists are convinced that a salty ocean lies under an ice crust several kilometers thick, which raises questions about the possibility of ocean habitability. In the early 2030s, NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft will arrive and attempt to answer these questions about the habitability of Europe. Data from the Juno flyby provides a glimpse of what this mission will reveal.
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quotes: Juno Gets Highest Close-Up Resolution of Jupiter’s Moon Europa (2022, Oct 5) Retrieved Oct 6, 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-10-juno-highest-resolution-close-up-jupiter- moon.html
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