Europa (Jupiter II) The smallest of the Galilean satellites, and the smoothest object in the solar system, with no feature more than 1 km high. The surface is icy, the ice being about 10–30 km thick, with two types of terrain, one mottled, brown or grey, with small hills, the other comprising large, smooth plains criss-crossed with straight and curved tracks, some thousands of kilometres long, producing a surface resembling that of the Arctic Ocean. There are very few craters. The crust is believed to be no more than 150 km thick and may include a liquid ocean beneath the surface ice. The inner core is believed to be of iron and sulphur beneath a rocky mantle. The satellite was discovered on 7 January 1610, by Galileo. Its diameter is 3130 km; mass 4.8 × 10²² kg; density 2990 kg/m³; visual albedo 0.64; surface gravity 0.135 (Earth = 1); mean distance from Jupiter 670 900 km; mean distance from Sun 5.203 AU; orbital period 3.551181 days; rotational period 3.551181 days.

Europa in Greek mythology, a princess of Tyre who was courted by Zeus in the form of a bull. She was carried off by him to Crete, where she bore him three sons (Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Sarpedon). The continent of Europe is said to be named after her, although Herodotus thinks this is unlikely since she was a Phoenician, and not from mainland Europe.

Europa Smallest of Jupiter's Galilean satellites, with a diameter of 3138km (1950mi). Mainly rock, Europa's smooth water-ice crust is criss-crossed by a network of light and dark linear markings. A form of ice tectonics might be operating on the planet, since there are very few craters.