PIA01101: Topography on Europa....the Shadow Knows
 Target Name:  Europa
 Is a satellite of:  Jupiter
 Mission:  Galileo
 Spacecraft:  Galileo Orbiter
 Instrument:  Solid-State Imaging 
 Product Size:  365 x 563 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  JPL
 Producer ID:  P49562 MRPS79578
 Addition Date:  1997-12-18
 Primary Data Set:  Galileo EDRs
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA01101.tif (199.6 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA01101.jpg (30.48 kB)

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

This image of Europa was taken by the Galileo spacecraft under "low-sun" illumination--the equivalent of taking a picture from a high altitude at sunrise or sunset. Note that in this image the topography of the terrain is emphasized. Planetary geologists use information from images acquired under a variety of lighting conditions to identify different types of structures and interpret how they formed. For example, the length of the shadow cast by a feature (e.g. a ridge or knob) is indicative of that feature's height. In this recent image, ridges and irregularly shaped knobs ranging in size from 5 kilometers across down to the limit of resolution (0.44 kilometers/pixel) can be seen. Measurements from shadow lengths indicate that features in this image range from tens of meters up to approximately one hundred meters in height.

The Galileo spacecraft acquired this image of Europa's surface during its third orbit around Jupiter. The image covers an area approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) by 75 kilometers (45 miles), centered near 10S, 190W.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.

This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL

Image Addition Date:
1997-12-18