This bull's-eye pattern marks the impact of a mountain-sized comet or asteroid [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] on the icy surface of Jupiter's moon Europa [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. Recorded by the Galileo spacecraft [ http://galileo.ivv.…] in April of this year, the composite false color image [ http://galileo.ivv.…] clearly reveals the telltale concentric fractures [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] which cover about 86 miles - roughly equivalent to the Island of Hawaii [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. The fat reddish and finer blue-green lines overlay the impact fractures and must therefore be younger surface features [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] formed after the impact. The dark red color may be the result of a a relatively dirty water-ice mixture. The possibility of liquid water below the ice has fueled speculation that life may exist [ http://www.etext.or…] on this large and distant moon [ http://seds.lpl.ari…].
Explanation
This bull's-eye pattern marks the impact of a mountain-sized comet or asteroid [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] on the icy surface of Jupiter's moon Europa [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. Recorded by the Galileo spacecraft [ http://galileo.ivv.…] in April of this year, the composite false color image [ http://galileo.ivv.…] clearly reveals the telltale concentric fractures [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] which cover about 86 miles - roughly equivalent to the Island of Hawaii [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. The fat reddish and finer blue-green lines overlay the impact fractures and must therefore be younger surface features [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] formed after the impact. The dark red color may be the result of a a relatively dirty water-ice mixture. The possibility of liquid water below the ice has fueled speculation that life may exist [ http://www.etext.or…] on this large and distant moon [ http://seds.lpl.ari…].
