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Concept information

Preferred term

Europa  

Definition(s)

  • Europa, or Jupiter II, is the smallest of the four Galilean moons orbiting Jupiter, and the sixth-closest to the planet of all the 80 known moons of Jupiter. It is also the sixth-largest moon in the Solar System. Europa was discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei and was named after Europa, the Phoenician mother of King Minos of Crete and lover of Zeus (the Greek equivalent of the Roman god Jupiter). Slightly smaller than Earth's Moon, Europa is primarily made of silicate rock and has a water-ice crust and probably an iron–nickel core. It has a very thin atmosphere, composed primarily of oxygen. Its white-beige surface is striated by light tan cracks and streaks, but craters are relatively few. In addition to Earth-bound telescope observations, Europa has been examined by a succession of space-probe flybys, the first occurring in the early 1970s. In September 2022, the Juno spacecraft flew within about 200 miles of Europa for a more recent close-up view. (Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_(moon))

Broader concept(s)

Synonym(s)

  • Jupiter II

In other languages

URI

http://data.loterre.fr/ark:/67375/MDL-P3N2HPXP-0

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