A Bond albedo map of Europa

Abstract

Context. Europa’s surface is globally highly reflective, but it shows significant spatial variations in albedo. Accurately estimating Europa’s energy balance would require mapping the surface’s bi-directional reflectance distribution function albedo. However, this quantity is challenging to observe and model across all viewing and illumination angles and all locations on the moon.Aims. This study aims to generate a comprehensive Bond albedo map of Europa at the highest spatial resolution possible to support the detailed thermal and photometric analyses essential for interpreting surface conditions.Methods. We present a new approach to creating an absolute Bond albedo map of Europa using photometric data and high-resolution imagery. The Bond albedo was determined for 20 regions of interest (ROIs) based on Voyager and New Horizons data using Hapke parameters. By correlating these values with the average pixel intensities for each ROI on the USGS map, we determined a linear relationship between the Bond albedo and pixel intensity.Results. This linear correlation allowed us to extrapolate a Bond albedo map across Europa’s surface with spatial resolution matching the United States Geological Survey mosaic. The resulting map provides a valuable dataset for energy balance assessments and can be used in detailed thermal modeling of Europa’s surface for upcoming missions. This product may also be useful for optimizing captor exposure times.