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                           Astronomy Picture of the Day   
      
       Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our   
         fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation   
                       written by a professional astronomer.   
      
                                   2024 March 29   
      
                                 Galileo's Europa   
        Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, SETI Institute, Cynthia Phillips,   
                                   Marty Valenti   
      
      Explanation: Looping through the Jovian system in the late 1990s, the   
      Galileo spacecraft recorded stunning views of Europa and uncovered   
      evidence that the moon's icy surface likely hides a deep, global ocean.   
      Galileo's Europa image data has been remastered here, with improved   
      calibrations to produce a color image approximating what the human eye   
      might see. Europa's long curving fractures hint at the subsurface   
      liquid water. The tidal flexing the large moon experiences in its   
      elliptical orbit around Jupiter supplies the energy to keep the ocean   
      liquid. But more tantalizing is the possibility that even in the   
      absence of sunlight that process could also supply the energy to   
      support life, making Europa one of the best places to look for life   
      beyond Earth. The Juno spacecraft currently in Jovian orbit has also   
      made repeated flybys of the water world, returning images along with   
      data exploring Europa's habitability. This October will see the launch   
      of the NASA's Europa Clipper on a voyage of exploration. The spacecraft   
      will make nearly 50 flybys, approaching to within 25 kilometers of   
      Europa's icy surface.   
      
                      Tomorrow's picture: Ptolemy's astronomy   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.   
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                         A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,   
                              NASA Science Activation   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
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