Europa: An Ocean Within

Europa: An Ocean Within
Europa: An Ocean Within What sort of world is this? It's certainly one of the most tantalizing, bizarre, and beautiful worlds yet visited by spacecraft. And it is perhaps the richest in possibility. This is Europa, the world in our solar system most likely to harbor extraterrestrial life. We see it here in an enhanced-color image created from data gathered during three flybys. The colors, although exaggerated, do reflect the actual colors of Europa. The blue corresponds to icy plains, which are among the oldest temperatures on this moon. The reddish areas show where the water ice has been mixed with materials extruded from below. Bright white areas are ejecta rays of material blasted out by the impact that formed the crater Pwyll, which lies 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) to the south. These markings, superimposed on other features, are the youngest features visible in this region. JPL / NASA