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Jupiter's iced Europa moon has a chaotic fractured and cracked surface, suggesting a long history of geological activity.
A new series of four Europa images taken with the Atacama Large Measurement System (ALMA) has helped astronomers create the first global thermal map of this cold Jupiter satellite, as indicated by the observatory .
"Since Europa is an oceanic world with potential geological activity, its surface temperatures are of great interest because they can limit the location and extent of such activities," said Samantha Trumbo, a California Planetary Scientist. of Technology and lead author of the site. the article entitled ALMA Thermal Observations of Europa, published in Astrophysical Journal.
How the map of Europe became
The researchers compared ALMA's new ALMA observations made by ALMA with a thermal model based on observations of the Galileo spacecraft.
This comparison allowed them to analyze the temperature changes in the data and to build the world's very first global map of thermal features of Europa.
The surface of Europe
The new data also revealed an enigmatic cold spot in the northern hemisphere of Europa.
Evidence strongly suggests that under its thin layer of ice, Europa has an ocean of brackish water in contact with a rocky core.
Europa also has a relatively young surface, about 20 to 180 million years old, which indicates that unidentified thermal or geological processes are at work.
A series of 4 images of the surface of Europe taken with ALMA, allowing astronomers to create the first global thermal map of Jupiter's frozen moon. (Credit: ALMA)
The temperature of Europe
Unlike optical telescopes, which can only detect the sun's rays reflected by planetary bodies, radio and millimeter-wave telescopes like ALMA detect the thermal "glow" naturally emitted by the coldest objects in our solar system. comets, asteroids and moons.
At its warmest, the surface temperature of the Europa never exceeds less than 160 degrees Celsius (minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit).
Relationship between the surface and the temperature of Europa
The new images have a resolution of about 200 km, sufficient to study the relationship between thermal surface variations and the main geological features of the moon.
"The study of thermal properties of Europa provides a unique way to understand its surface.Said Bryan Butler, astronomer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Socorro, New Mexico, and co-author of the paper.
Read also | The 15-meter-high "ice peaks" invade Jupiter's Europe and pose a threat to future landings
Read also | Does Jupiter's icy moon, Europa, hide life under its hidden ocean?
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