Europa: Basic parameters

When you put these things together, you discover that Io, Europa, and Ganymede are all heated through their continual tidal stretching.

This happens because Io gets a tidal kick (gravitational tug) at the same time of its orbit, every orbit, by Jupiter and Europa and Ganymede.

Europa also gets stretched by Jupiter, Io, and Ganymede every orbit at the same time.

(The same is also true for Ganymede.)

Bennett et al.

These gravitational kicks have the result of heating these moons. Io gets heated most -- why is that? -- then comes Europa, then Ganymede.

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