PIA17851: 3-D Cilix Crater on Europa


3-D Cilix Crater on Europa

Caption:

This view of Cilix impact crater on Europa was created in 2013 using 3-D stereo images taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft, combined with advanced image processing techniques. The crater has a diameter of about 11 miles (18 kilometers).

This image, which combines a 3-D Digital Elevation Model, or DEM, with original imagery, shows that the crater rim rises steeply for about 980 feet (300 meters) above a flat crater floor that is interrupted by a central peak which has a height of about 660 feet (200 meters). Such central peaks are common on other bodies in the solar system. Young, well-preserved craters like Cilix are rare on Europa's surface, where ongoing geologic activity is thought to disrupt most surface features over timescales of tens of millions of years.

Background Info:

For more information about Europa, visit: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/europa/home.cfm .

JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Europa
System Jupiter
Target Type Satellite
Mission Galileo
Instrument Host Galileo Orbiter
Host Type Orbiter
Instrument
Detector
Extra Keywords Crater, Grayscale, Impact
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2014-01-08
Date in Caption
Image Credit NASA/JPL-Caltech
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA17851
Identifier PIA17851