Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]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.

                                 2023 May 20
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                              Galileo's Europa
      Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]JPL-Caltech, [5]SETI Institute, Cynthia
                           Phillips, Marty Valenti

   Explanation: Looping through the Jovian system in the late 1990s, the
   [6]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 [7]remastered here, with improved
   calibrations to produce a color image approximating what the human eye
   might see. Europa's long curving fractures [8]hint at the subsurface
   liquid water. The tidal flexing [9]the large moon experiences in its
   elliptical orbit around Jupiter supplies the energy to keep the ocean
   liquid. But more [10]tantalizing is the possibility that even in the
   absence of sunlight that process could also supply the energy to
   support life, [11]making Europa one of the best places to look for life
   beyond Earth. What kind of life could thrive in a deep, dark,
   subsurface ocean? Consider planet Earth's own [12]extreme shrimp.

                      Tomorrow's picture: almost alien
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    Authors & editors: [24]Robert Nemiroff ([25]MTU) & [26]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([27]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [28]Specific rights apply.
              [29]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [30]ASD at [31]NASA / [32]GSFC
                           & [33]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2305/PIA19048europa.jpg
   3. https://www.nasa.gov/
   4. http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/
   5. http://www.seti.org/
   6. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/galileo/
   7. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/?IDNumber=PIA19048
   8. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/nasa-scientists-confirm-water-vapor-on-europa
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160401.html
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140919.html
  11. https://europa.nasa.gov/
  12. https://www.nasa.gov/jpl/extreme-shrimp-may-hold-clues-to-alien-life/
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230519.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  17. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  22. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230520
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230521.html
  24. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  25. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  26. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  27. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  29. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  30. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  31. https://www.nasa.gov/
  32. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  33. http://www.mtu.edu/