![]() when it is closest), and 676,938 km at Apoapsis (farthest). It's orbit is nearly circular, with a eccentricity of 0.09, and lies at an average distance of 670 900 km from Jupiter – 664,862 km at Periapsis (i.e. It is also slightly smaller than Earth's moon, which makes it the sixth-largest moon and fifteenth largest object in the solar system. With a mean radius of about 1560 km and a mass of 4.7998 ×10 22 kg, Europa is 0.245 the size of Earth and 0.008 times as massive. Europa has been recognized as being the sixth satellite in terms of distance from Jupiter. With the Voyager probes, three more inner satellites were discovered around Jupiter in 1979. The discovery of Amalthea in 1892, who's orbit lies closer to Jupiter than the Galileans, pushed Europa to the third position. However, by the mid-20th century, the names suggested by Marius were revived and entered common usage. These names were not initially popular and Galileo refused to use them, opting instead for the naming scheme of Jupiter I – IV – with Europa being Jupiter II since it was believed to be the second closest to Jupiter. The naming scheme was suggested by Simon Marius – a German astronomer who is thought to have discovered the four satellites independently – who in turn attributed the proposal to Johannes Kepler. Europa was a Phoenician noblewoman and the daughter of the king of Tyre, who later became a lover to Zeus and the queen of Crete. ![]() Like all the Galilean satellites, Europa was named after a lover of Zeus, the Greek equivalent to Jupiter. At the time, he mistook these four luminous objects for "fixed stars", but ongoing observation showed that they were orbiting Jupiter in a way that could only be explained by the existence of satellites. In addition to having an icy surface and a possible warm-water interior, this moon is considered to be one of the most-likely candidates for possessing life outside of Earth.Įuropa, along with Io, Ganymede and Callisto, were discovered by Galileo Galilei in January of 1610, using a telescope of his own design. So only a tiny percentage of Io’s mass will disappear over the lifetime of the solar system, leaving the moon intact as the Sun and the solar system age.But arguably, the most fascinating of the Galilean moons is Europa: the sixth closest moon to Jupiter, the smallest of the four, and the sixth largest moon in the solar system. At this rate, the total mass lost by Io over the lifetime of the solar system is about 7×1020 pounds (3×1020 kg). Results from the Galileo spacecraft show that the total mass loss rate from Io is about 2,200 pounds (1,000 kilograms) per second. This material may stay in orbit around Jupiter as part of the Io Plasma Torus, a ring of electrons and ions produced by Io and heated by Jupiter’s magnetic field as it rotates. However, some material does eventually escape the influence of Io’s gravity and enters Jupiter’s. Several of Io’s volcanoes spray gas and particles high above the surface, but most of that material falls back down to the surface, creating colorful and bright ring deposits. Yes, Io is losing mass because of its volcanic activity, but not as much as you’d think.
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