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PHOTO CAPTION
P-48127
December 12, 1996

This view of Jupiter's moon Europa shows a portion of the surface that has
been highly disrupted by fractures and ridges. This picture covers an area
about 238 kilometers (150 miles) wide by 225 kilometers (140 miles), or
about the distance between Los Angeles and San Diego. Symmetric ridges in
the dark bands suggest that the surface crust was separated and filled with
darker material, somewhat analogous to spreading centers in the ocean basins
of Earth. Although some impact craters are visible, their general absence
indicates a youthful surface. The youngest ridges, such as the two features
that cross the center of the picture, have central fractures, aligned knobs,
and irregular dark patches. These and other features could indicate
cryovolcanism, or processes related to eruption of ice and gases.

This picture, centered at 16 degrees south latitude, 196 degrees west
longitude, was taken at a distance of 40,973 kilometers (25,290 mi) on
November 6, 1996 by the Galileo spacecraft solid state imaging television
camera onboard the Galileo spacecraft during its third orbit around Jupiter.

Launched in October 1989, Galileo entered orbit around Jupiter on December
7, 1995. The spacecraft's mission is to conduct detailed studies of the
giant planet, its largest moons and the Jovian magnetic environment. The Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of
Space Science, Washington, DC.