Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Title:
Sulfuric Acid on Europa
Original Caption Released with Image:
Frozen sulfuric acid on Jupiter's moon Europa is depicted in this image produced from data gathered by NASA's Galileo spacecraft. The brightest areas, where the yellow is most intense, represent regions of high frozen sulfuric acid concentration. Sulfuric acid is found in battery acid and in Earth's acid rain.

This image is based on data gathered by Galileo's near infrared mapping spectrometer.

Europa's leading hemisphere is toward the bottom right, and there are enhanced concentrations of sulfuric acid in the trailing side of Europa(the upper left side of the image). This is the face of Europa that is struck by sulfur ions coming from Jupiter's innermost moon, Io. The long, narrow features that crisscross Europa also show sulfuric acid that may be from sulfurous material extruded in cracks.

Galileo, launched in 1989, has been orbiting Jupiter and its moons since December 1995. JPL manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington DC. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA.
Addition Date:
1999-09-30
Produced By:
JPL
Mission:
Galileo
Spacecraft:
Galileo Orbiter
Target Name:
Europa
Is a satellite of:
Jupiter
Instrument:
Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer
Product Size:
837 samples x 796 lines
Primary Data Set:
Galileo EDRs
Producer ID:
P50592 MRPS95293
facet_what:
Moon
facet_what:
Jupiter
facet_what:
Earth
facet_what:
Galileo
facet_what:
Galileo Orbiter
facet_what:
Spectrometer
facet_what:
Io
facet_what:
Europa
facet_what:
Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS)
facet_where:
Jupiter
facet_where:
Europa
facet_where:
California
facet_where:
Washington
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_when:
1989
facet_when:
December 1995
facet_when_year:
1995
facet_when_year:
1989
Image #:
PIA02500
UID:
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA02500
orignial url:

Sulfuric Acid on Europa