ESA - Jupiter鈥檚 moon Europa to obscure distant star

<!doctype html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, user-scalable=no, initial-scale=1.0, minimum-scale=1.0, maximum-scale=1.0"> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/var/esa/cache/public/stylesheets/c35b41a32fb01cc5cc5a0efcc8ca483e_1685535780_all.css" /> <link href="/fontawesome/css/fontawesome.css" rel="stylesheet"> <link href="/fontawesome/css/brands.css" rel="stylesheet"> <link href="/fontawesome/css/solid.css" rel="stylesheet"> <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-2.2.4.min.js" integrity="sha256-BbhdlvQf/xTY9gja0Dq3HiwQF8LaCRTXxZKRutelT44=" crossorigin="anonymous"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/var/esa/cache/public/javascript/ec3756e8a47adc0f64e3c43418bca85a_1729093166.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <meta property="og:title" content="Jupiter鈥檚 moon Europa to obscure distant star"> <title>ESA - Jupiter鈥檚 moon Europa to obscure distant star</title> <meta name="description" content="On 19 June 2022, Jupiter鈥檚 intriguing moon Europa will pass in front of a distant star, making that star appear to disappear for at least a minute. This event will be easy to see with any size of telescope from certain parts of Africa."> <meta property="og:description" content="On 19 June 2022, Jupiter鈥檚 intriguing moon Europa will pass in front of a distant star, making that star appear to disappear for at least a minute. 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This event will be easy to see with any size of telescope from certain parts of Africa.</p> </div> <div class="article__block"> <p>By timing the event and then comparing the observations from different viewing locations astronomers will be able to refine their understanding of Europa鈥檚 orbit in preparation for ESA鈥檚 <a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice" target="_blank">JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (Juice)</a> mission, which is scheduled to arrive at the system during 2031. They may also be able to investigate the way the starlight interacts with the tenuous envelope of gasses that surround Europa.</p> </div> <div class="article__block"> <p>When one celestial object blocks the light of a more distant one, it is called an occultation. The prediction for this particular occultation has been made using data from ESA鈥檚 Gaia mission.</p><p>Operational since late 2013, <a href="/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Gaia" target="_blank">Gaia</a> is a star mapping mission that is recording the precise positions of more than a billion stars in our home galaxy, the Milky Way. On 13 June, its much anticipated third full data release (DR3) will be made publicly available.</p><p>DR3 will contain almost 2 billion celestial objects. Using data from previous Gaia releases has already allowed improved predictions to be made for several previous occultations, increasing the chances of observational success.</p> </div> <div class="article__block"> <p>For example, in 2017, Gaia data was used to predict a <a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Gaia/Astronomers_spy_Europa_blocking_distant_star_thanks_to_Gaia">Europa occultation that was to occur on 31 March</a>. At the time, the only Jovian moons that had been observed in this way were Io and Ganymede. So, thanks to Gaia鈥檚 prediction, astronomers on Earth observed a Europa occultation for the first time.</p><p>Gaia data were subsequently used to predict further occultations involving all four of Jupiter's largest moons. Known as the Galilean moons because they were discovered by Galileo Galilei, they are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.</p><p>What makes the upcoming occultation of Europa special is that this moon will be in Jupiter鈥檚 shadow at the time and so it is impossible to see Europa directly because it does not generate any light of its own. Instead, it is visible only when it reflects sunlight. As Jupiter will be blocking that sunlight during the occultation, observers will only know Europa is there when it makes the star temporarily disappear.</p> </div> <div class="article__block"> <figure class="article__image article__image--left"> <a href="/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2022/06/Jupiter_s_moon_Europa_to_obscure_distant_star" class="popup"> <img src="/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2022/06/jupiter_s_moon_europa_to_obscure_distant_star/24099562-1-eng-GB/Jupiter_s_moon_Europa_to_obscure_distant_star_article.png" alt="Jupiter鈥檚 moon Europa to obscure distant star"> </a> <figcaption class="image__caption"> <a href="/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2022/06/Jupiter_s_moon_Europa_to_obscure_distant_star">Jupiter鈥檚 moon Europa to obscure distant star</a> </figcaption> </figure> <p>The occultation takes place at 03:05:57 UTC, and it is only visible across a rather narrow track of the Earth鈥檚 surface. The centre line of that track passes through the African countries of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Eastwards from here, it will be lost from view by the rising Sun.</p><p>The occulted star is below the limits of visibility to the naked eye but is not too faint. With an apparent brightness of magnitude 9, it will be easily visible in any size of telescope. To find it on the sky, astronomers should look at coordinates RA: 00:23:46.52, Dec: +01:13:18.92.</p><p>Observations of the event can be sent to europaocc2022.imcce@obspm.fr.</p> </div> <div class="article__block"> <p>Being able to refine the orbital position of Europa, and the other moons of Jupiter, will make ESA鈥檚 Juice mission more productive. It will help spacecraft operators navigate between these icy worlds more accurately, and it will help the scientists extract conclusions from the flyby data. For example, knowing the spacecraft鈥檚 exact altitude above a moon鈥檚 surface will make calculations about the moon鈥檚 interior more precise.</p><p>This prediction is a reminder of the many facets of astronomy that Gaia data can be used for and how star data can help out with the study of asteroids and moons in our Solar System. Some details for Europa and some of the other moons of Jupiter will be part of the upcoming <a href="https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/data-release-3" target="_blank">Gaia data release 3, to be released on 13 June.</a></p> </div> <div class="share button-group article__block article__item"> <button id="ezsr_24099423_2_5" class="btn ezsr-star-rating-enabled" title="Like">Like</button> <p id="ezsr_just_rated_24099423" class="ezsr-just-rated hide">Thank you for liking</p> <p id="ezsr_has_rated_24099423" class="ezsr-has-rated hide">You have already liked this page, you can only like it once!</p> <div class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 a2a_default_style"> <a class="a2a_button_x"></a> <a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a> <a class="a2a_button_copy_link"></a> <a class="a2a_dd" href=https://www.addtoany.com/share></a> </div> </div> </article> <section id="footer"> <span class="footer__signature">European Space Agency</span> <div class="footer-nav"> <a href="/Services/Frequently_asked_questions">FAQ</a> <a href="/Services/Contacts">Contacts</a> <a href="/Services/Terms_and_conditions">Terms and conditions</a> <a href="/Services/Privacy_notice">Privacy notice</a> <a href="/About_Us/Careers_at_ESA">Careers at ESA</a> <a href="/Services/Email_updates">Subscribe </a> </div> <div class="social-media-links"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/ESA" target="_blank"><i class="fab fa-youtube"></i></a> <a href="https://twitter.com/esa" target="_blank"><i class="fa-brands fa-x-twitter"></i></a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/EuropeanSpaceAgency" target="_blank"><i class="fab fa-facebook-f"></i></a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/europeanspaceagency/" target="_blank"><i class="fab fa-instagram"></i></a> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/european-space-agency/" target="_blank"><i class="fab fa-linkedin-in"></i></a> <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/EuropeanSpaceAgency/" target="_blank"><i class="fab fa-pinterest"></i></a> </div> </section> <section id="popup-modal"></section></div> <script> if (jQuery.cookie('cc_cookie_accept') == "cc_cookie_accept") { var s = document.createElement("script"); s.src = "https://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"; document.body.appendChild(s); }</script>  </body> </html>

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ESA - Jupiter鈥檚 moon Europa to obscure distant star