Europa Report: Jupiter's Icy Moon Explained (Infographic)

Infographic: Jupiter's moon Europa has a huge underground ocean.

Scientists are eager to learn if Europa's huge subsurface ocean harbors alien life. (Image credit: by Karl Tate, Infographics Artist)

In 1610, when Galileo Galilei turned his telescope toward Jupiter, he saw four tiny points of light accompanying the planet. These are the Galilean satellites, the four largest of the 67 known moons of Jupiter. The smallest of the Galileans is Europa.

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Karl's association with Space.com goes back to 2000, when he was hired to produce interactive Flash graphics. From 2010 to 2016, Karl worked as an infographics specialist across all editorial properties of Purch (formerly known as TechMediaNetwork). Before joining Space.com, Karl spent 11 years at the New York headquarters of The Associated Press, creating news graphics for use around the world in newspapers and on the web. He has a degree in graphic design from Louisiana State University and now works as a freelance graphic designer in New York City.