Europan.
/jᵿˈrəʊpə/, U.S. /juˈroʊpə/ Astronomy.
The smallest of the four Galilean satellites of Jupiter, having a diameter of 1949 miles (3138 km) and a bright smooth surface covered with a network of streaks and cracks.The surface is thought to consist of water ice that may overlie an ocean of water. The satellite was usually referred to as Jupiter II until the name Europa was revived in the mid 20th cent.
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1861 G. F. Chambers Handbk. Descr. Astron. i. x. 60 Jupiter is attended by 4 satellites, all discovered by Galileo, at Padu, on January 8, 1610. [Note] Named respectively Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto. These names are not in general use.
1912 M. E. Martin Ways of Planets xiii. 200 When the first four satellites were discovered they were named respectively, in order of their distances from Jupiter, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.
1962 Listener 26 July 135/2 There are..no less than twelve satellites [of Jupiter]. Four of these (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto) are visible with any small telescope.
1987 A. C. Clarke 2061: Odyssey Three (1988) 143 If we return to Earth immediately, get refuelled and refitted, we can reach Europa in a retrograde, powered orbit in eighty-five days.
2000 Front Oct. 43/1 On Europa—one of Jupiter's moons—there may be an underground ocean beneath the ice.
Derivatives
Euˈropan adj.
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1985 Icarus 61 187/1 The question of a possible Europan atmosphere cannot be dismissed as readily as the magnetic field.
2004 San Diego Union-Tribune (Nexis) 7 Apr. f1 At that distant point in the future, after Earth and all the life on it is long gone, Europan life may enjoy a billion years or so of evolution.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1861