What it’s like to stand here
Europa
weight
0.13 g
sun
0.19× as wide
sky
warm white

Illustration computed from this world’s measured and derived values, not a photograph.

Europa, photographed
Photograph · NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute · Public domain
Rocky world

Europa

Europa is a rocky world in our own solar system.

Sun
host star
0.24 R⊕
radius
0.008 M⊕
mass · measured
11.9 years
orbital period
-171°C (-276°F)
avg temp
Human scale

Standing on Europa, you would weigh about 87% less than you do on Earth. From here the Sun looks 0.19× as wide as it does from Earth, bathing the surface in warm white light. A year here lasts 11.9 Earth years, and at an estimated -171°C (-276°F) it is colder than almost anywhere in the solar system.

0.13 g
your weight (measured mass)
11.9 years
one year, in Earth time
0.19× as wide
how big its sun looks vs ours
warm white
midday sky tint
7.5×
how high you could jump vs Earth
locked
tidally locked to Jupiter: the same face always points at its parent
Calculate your exact weight on Europa
Earth Similarity Index0.30

How closely this world matches Earth in size and warmth, from 0 to 1 (Earth = 1.0). Computed by gravityfinder. See every world ranked →

What these mean: surface gravity · tidal locking · equilibrium temperature · Earth similarity

If your children grew up herea playful thought experiment
EARTH HEIGHT≈ 1.5xEARTH-RAISEDRAISED HERE
about 1.5x taller than on Earth · a 5 ft 10 in adult could stand nearer 8 ft 9 in

Low gravity, 0.13 times Earth's. A child who grew up here could become strikingly tall and lightly built, about 1.5x taller than on Earth: a 5 ft 10 in adult could stand nearer 8 ft 9 in, with long limbs and slender bones.

Bones
Light and slender
With little weight to carry, the growing skeleton lays down far less bone, the way astronauts' bones thin in months of low gravity.
Heart
Unhurried
With less weight pulling blood down toward the feet, the heart has far less work to do.
Movement
Bounding and springy
So little weight means each step would carry the body up and forward in long, floating strides.

A playful thought experiment from this world’s gravity, not a prediction about any real person. No human has ever grown up off Earth, so no one truly knows; the direction (taller in low gravity, shorter and stockier in high) follows how growing bodies respond to weight.

Hear how a voice sounds herea computed acoustic demo

You would hear nothing at all.

With essentially no atmosphere, there is no medium to carry sound. You could shout into someone's helmet from an inch away and they would hear nothing: space is silent.

The journey
Cosmic travel advisory
★★☆☆☆
Reconsider travel
  • !A liquid ocean may hide beneath the ice, but the surface is a frozen -160°C.
  • !Jupiter's radiation belts make the surface deadly without heavy shielding.
  • !Barely any atmosphere, just a trace of oxygen far too thin to breathe.

A playful read of Europa’s measured and computed values, not a real advisory.

Where it is

Europa is in our own solar system. It orbits about 5.20 AU from the Sun, so sunlight reaches it in roughly 43 minutes. From Earth it is about 4.20 AU away at closest, and a spacecraft is far slower:

How long to get there with today’s craft
Jet airliner
80 years
dies en route1000-yr cryo: survives
Parker Solar Probethe fastest craft ever built
38 days
arrives thriving
Light speed
35 min
arrives thriving
Warp 10
2 sec
arrives thriving
Folding spacetimeinstant, plus 1 hr of paperwork
1 hour
arrives thriving

At the speed of the Parker Solar Probe, the fastest craft ever built, the trip to Europa would take about 38 days; a real mission took the Juno probe just under 5 years to reach Jupiter's neighborhood.

Size vs Earth
EarthEuropa is 4.1× narrower than Earth
Explore from here · roam the neighborhood

Zoom out: star → system → (soon) galaxy arm, host black hole, and a real image of the host galaxy.

Can you see it tonight? · observe
TELESCOPE, BESIDE JUPITER
Brightnessmag 5.3
To see ita small telescope (binoculars show it as a star-like dot)
Gear bridge

Matched telescope & eyepiece recommendations are coming. Any product links will carry a clear affiliate disclosure.

Common questions

What is the gravity on Europa?

Europa's surface gravity is about 0.13 times Earth's.

How much would you weigh on Europa?

Someone who weighs 150 pounds on Earth would weigh about 20 pounds on Europa.

How hot is Europa?

Europa's equilibrium temperature, the balance it reaches from its star's light alone before any greenhouse warming, is about -171°C (-276°F).

How long is a year on Europa?

Europa completes one orbit of the Sun in 11.9 years.

The portrait of Europa is a real photograph (NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute, Public domain). The "stand here" scene and the size comparison are computed illustrations, not photographs.