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Europa's Crisscrossed Ridges and Fractures

Various linear ridges on Europa as seen from orbit.
Source: NASA/JPL/ASU
Published: January 7, 2019

This high resolution image of the icy crust of Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, reveals a surface crisscrossed by multiple sets of ridges and fractures.

The area covered by this image is approximately 9 miles (15 kilometers) by 7 miles (12 kilometers), located near 15 North, 273 West. North is to the top, and the sun is illuminating the terrain from the right. The large ridge in the lower right corner of the image is approximately 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) across, and is one of the youngest features in this image, as it cuts across many of the other features. Note that one ridge has been sheared by a right-lateral fault.

This image was taken by the Galileo spacecraft on February 20, 1997 from a distance of 1,240 miles (2,000 kilometers).

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