Europa / j ʊ ˈ r oʊ p ə / ⓘ, or Jupiter II, is the smallest of the four Galilean moons orbiting Jupiter, and the sixth-closest to the planet of all the 95 known moons of Jupiter. It is also the sixth-largest moon in the Solar System.

2021年6月8日 · Jupiter’s icy moon Europa may be the most promising place in the solar system to find present-day environments suitable for life beyond Earth. Scientists study the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe in a scientific field called astrobiology.

2025年2月25日 · Europa is the fourth largest of Jupiter’s 95 moons. It's the sixth-closest moon to the planet. Europa may be one of the most promising places in our solar system to find present-day environments suitable for some form of life beyond Earth.

Like our planet, Europa is thought to have an iron core, a rocky mantle, and an ocean of salty water. Unlike Earth, however, Europa’s ocean lies below a shell of ice probably 10 to 15 miles (15 to 25 kilometers) thick, and has an estimated depth of 40 to 100 miles (60 to 150 kilometers).

Jupiter’s icy moon Europa may have these essential ingredients and is as old as Earth. NASA is sending the Europa Clipper spacecraft to conduct a detailed exploration of Europa and investigate whether the icy moon, with its subsurface ocean, has the capability to support life.

2025年2月9日 · Europa, the smallest and second nearest of the four large moons (Galilean satellites) discovered around Jupiter by the Italian astronomer Galileo in 1610. It was probably also discovered independently that same year by the German astronomer Simon Marius, who named it after Europa of Greek mythology. Europa is a rocky object covered with an ...

2025年2月25日 · These are elements like carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur. They’re elements that create the building blocks for life as we know it on Earth. We think that those elements exist on Europa. The third component is an energy source. As Europa orbits around Jupiter, Jupiter’s strong gravity tugs and pulls on it.

Europa orbits Jupiter, the fifth planet from the Sun. Jupiter orbits the Sun at a distance of roughly 500 million miles (780 million kilometers). Europa rotates once on its axis and completes one orbit of Jupiter every 3.5 Earth days, so the same side of Europa always faces Jupiter.

2023年5月3日 · Europa is an icy moon of Jupiter and one of the four so-called Galilean moons of Jupiter. See more facts about Europa and its history here.

Europa is the sixth-largest moon in the Solar System and Jupiter’s fourth-largest satellite. Despite its cracked and discolored appearance, it is the smoothest solid object in the Solar System; its highest peaks, of which there are few, only reach a few …