Abstract
Theoretical predictions of non-synchronous rotation and of polar wander
on Europa have been tested by comparing tectonic features observed
in Voyager and Galileo spacecraft images with tidal stresses. Evidence
for non-synchronous rotation comes from studying changes in global
scale lineaments formed over time, from the character of strike-slip
faults, and from comparison of distinctively shaped cycloidal cracks
with the longitudes at which such shapes should have formed, in theory.
The study of cycloids constrains the rotation period (relative to
the direction of Jupiter) to less than 250 000 years, while direct
comparison of the orientation of Europa in Voyager and Galileo images
shows the rotation is slow, with a period of >12 000 years. Comparison
of strike-slip faults with their theoretical locations of formation
provides evidence for substantial polar wander, supported by the
distribution of various thermally produced features.
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