PDS logoPlanetary Data System
PDS Information
Find a Node - Use these links to navigate to any of the 8 publicly accessible PDS Nodes.

This bar indicates that you are within the PDS enterprise which includes 6 science discipline nodes and 2 support nodes which are overseen by the Project Management Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Each node is led by an expert in the subject discipline, supported by an advisory group of other practitioners of that discipline, and subject to selection and approval under a regular NASA Research Announcement.
Click here to return to the Photojournal Home Page Click here to view a list of Photojournal Image Galleries Photojournal_inner_header
Latest Images  |  Spacecraft & Technology  |  Animations  |  Space Images App  |  Feedback  |  Photojournal Search  

PIA24029: Briny Plumes on Europa (Illustration)
This illustration of Jupiter's icy moon Europa depicts a cryovolcanic eruption in which brine from within the icy shell could blast into space. A new model proposing this process may also shed light on plumes on other icy bodies.
 Target Name:  Europa
 Is a satellite of:  Jupiter
 Product Size:  3840 x 2160 pixels (w x h) 
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA24029.tif (15.02 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA24029.jpg (666.9 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:

Scientists have theorized on the origin of water plumes that are possibly erupting from Jupiter's moon Europa. This illustration depicts a scenario modeled in new research that proposes some plumes could come from an eruption of brine, or salt-enriched water, from a pocket of water within the moon's crust. If Europa is venting plumes of liquid, they could possibly be observed by NASA's upcoming Europa Clipper mission, set to launch in the mid-2020's.

The research on eruptions of briny water from Europa's crust used images collected by NASA's Galileo spacecraft. The model shows how a combination of freezing and pressurization could lead to a cryovolcanic eruption, or a burst of frigid water, like the one illustrated here. The model could also shed light on cryovolcanic eruptions on other icy bodies in the solar system.

More information about Europa and Europa Clipper can be found here: europa.nasa.gov.

Image Credit:
Justice Wainwright

Image Addition Date:
2020-11-13