Europa is one of the four large moons of Jupiter discovered by Galileo Galilei in January 1610, using an early telescope. The discovery of moons circling another planet gave strong support to the Copernican view that the Earth is not the centre of all motion. Europa is slightly smaller than our Moon and is covered by a smooth shell of water ice crossed by long cracks and ridges. Evidence from the Galileo spacecraft indicates that beneath the ice lies a global salty ocean, kept liquid by tidal heating. Because of this, Europa is considered one of the most promising places in the solar system to look for life, and NASA's Europa Clipper mission, launched in 2024, is designed to study it.
Before and after
- from May 1609 to October 1646Anglo-Powhatan Wars
- from 29 September 1609 to 13 June 1611Siege of Smolensk
- 7 January 1610Discovery of Io
- 7 January 1610Discovery of Callisto
- 7 January 1610Discovery of Europa
- 7 January 1610Discovery of Ganymede
- 7 January 1610Galileo discovers the moons of Jupiter
- 18 July 1610Death of Caravaggio
- 19 May 1611Birth of Innocent XI
More in Universe & space
- 11 November 1572Tycho's Supernova
- 1576Founding of Uraniborg
- October 1604Kepler's Supernova appears in the constellation Ophiuchus
- 25 March 1655Discovery of Titan
- 9 December 1743Discovery of Great Comet of 1744
- 25 December 1758Halley's Comet returns as predicted
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 17th century.