Europa Transiting Geometry

 Europa Transiting Geometry

This diagram shows how the plumes on Europa are seen in silhouette as the moon moves across the face of Jupiter. Europa makes a complete orbit of Jupiter in just 3.5 Earth days.

Credits

NASA, ESA, and A. Feild (STScI)

About The Object
Object Name Europa
Object Description Moon of Jupiter
Distance The position of Jupiter and Europa changes as they and Earth travel on their orbits through the solar system. Europa, orbiting Jupiter, was approximately 4.3 AU (400 million miles or 640 million kilometers) from Earth at the time of these observations.
About The Data
Data Description Data were provided by HST proposals , , and : W. Sparks (STScI), S. Deustua (STScI), K. Hand (JPL), M. McGrath (SETI Institute), and E. Bergeron and M. Cracraft (STScI).
About The Object
Object Name A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
Object Description The type of astronomical object.
R.A. Position Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
Dec. Position Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
Constellation One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
Distance The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
Dimensions The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
About The Data
Data Description
  • Proposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
  • Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
Instrument The science instrument used to produce the data.
Exposure Dates The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
Filters The camera filters that were used in the science observations.
About The Image
Image Credit The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content.
Publication Date The date and time the release content became public.
Color Info A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.
Orientation The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere.