Moons · Moon
Europa’s icy shell in a realistic colour view from Galileo: whites and blues of purer ice, and reddish-brown cracks.
Featured palette: Galileo colour view, reprocessed (Sampled from this image)
#87827E#ACA29C#828080#35383A#595A5C#121415#D3CAC0
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute. · released 2014-11-21
About Europa
Europa, a moon of Jupiter, has an icy shell above what scientists believe is a saltwater ocean. In NASA’s reprocessed Galileo view, blue and white areas are relatively pure water ice, while reddish and brown areas hold more non-ice material.
| Classification | Moon |
|---|---|
| Parent body | Jupiter |
| Mean radius | 1,560.8 km ± 0.3 kmmean radius · NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics |
| Orbital period | 3.53 daysorbital period around Jupiter · mean elements, epoch 2000-01-01.5 TDB · NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics |
Why these colours?
Ice and lineae
NASA assembled the Galileo images into a realistic colour view that approximates how Europa would look to the eye.
From: Galileo colour view, reprocessed Approximate visible appearance
Colour clusters describe pixels in an image; they cannot identify a mineral, a gas or a physical temperature. Shares of pixels describe the sampled region of the image, not the object’s surface.
Colours from selected views
Palettes sampled from identified images and regions, or calculated from a documented model. These values describe each image or model, not one permanent colour of Europa.
Galileo colour view, reprocessed
Sampled from this image · Galileo colour view, reprocessed
#87827ERGB 135, 130, 126region average#ACA29CRGB 172, 162, 15619% of the region#828080RGB 130, 128, 12818% of the region#35383ARGB 53, 56, 5818% of the region#595A5CRGB 89, 90, 9216% of the region#121415RGB 18, 20, 2115% of the region#D3CAC0RGB 211, 202, 19214% of the region
See where these colours came from
Global texture (NASA 3D Resources)
Sampled from this image · Global texture (NASA 3D Resources)
#BEBEBERGB 190, 190, 190region average#D2D2D2RGB 210, 210, 21025% of the region#BABABARGB 186, 186, 18623% of the region#9F9F9FRGB 159, 159, 15918% of the region#EAEAEARGB 234, 234, 23417% of the region#7E7E7ERGB 126, 126, 12613% of the region#4E4E4ERGB 78, 78, 783% of the region
See where these colours came from
Creative palettes inspired by Europa
A design derived from the selected representation. It is not a scientific colour measurement. Each colour keeps the sampled colour it was made from.
Europa Ice
Inspired by this object
#CBC6C2RGB 203, 198, 194from #ACA29C#B5B4B4RGB 181, 180, 180from #828080#8A8C8DRGB 138, 140, 141from #35383A#9F9FA1RGB 159, 159, 161from #595A5C#757677RGB 117, 118, 119from #121415#DFDAD5RGB 223, 218, 213from #D3CAC0
Europa’s ice tones softened for a pale, clean palette.
Explore the views and the 3D model
Galileo colour view, reprocessedApproximate visible appearanceGlobal texture (NASA 3D Resources)Enhanced visible colourPick a colour from the image. Click or tap the picture to read a colour. Picked colours are yours, not catalogue samples.
Sphere with a global map A sphere carrying a global map; the shape is a sphere, not a measured shape, and the map’s own coverage gaps are shown as they are. Objects are enlarged or scaled for inspection unless stated otherwise.
Use these colours
Every palette above opens in the palette generator. With JavaScript you can also add colours to your cosmic palette, save them, make a gradient or pattern, preview them in a design or a room (you choose which colour goes on which surface), check digital accessibility and export them. Each colour keeps the view and sample it came from.
Paint matches compare digital swatches for design inspiration. They are not physical equivalents of light from space. Edits create a new design palette. The original representation remains unchanged.
Questions about Europa’s colours
Why are Europa’s poles bluer?
NASA’s caption suggests it may be due to differences in ice grain size between the poles and lower latitudes.
Sources
- 3D Resources — NASA
- Europa Stunning Surface — NASA
- Global texture (NASA 3D Resources) — NASA 3D Resources
- Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters — NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics
- Planetary Satellite Mean Elements — NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics
Image credits
- Galileo colour view, reprocessed: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute. NASA media (not copyrighted; see the NASA image and media guidelines). Resized for the web from the publisher’s file (sha256 f020c034750675cb0ace6c3164b18151746bfa28405e888d810312cd563d650d).
- Global texture (NASA 3D Resources): USGS, JPL & Caltech. NASA 3D Resources (free, without copyright; NASA media guidelines). Resized for the web from the publisher’s file (sha256 50d01ca5c01352d1c507bb17fefd1c46ba11260305656250062c6cdac89c8ebf).
Images were resized once for the web; colours were measured from the published files (k-means in OKLab, pcke-oklab-kmeans-1); calculated colours use the CIE 1931 2° observer. Facts last reviewed 25 October 2026. Catalogue pcke-cosmos-2026-10-25, page revision 027634baf93f. No ESA, ESO or NASA endorsement is implied.