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Does callisto experience tidal heating12/30/2023 ![]() Source: Meanwhile Callisto does not participate in the orbital resonance, unlike the other three large satellites. Comparing the sizes of the Earth, the Moon and Callisto. A solar day on Callisto lasts 16.7 Earth days, exactly the same as its orbit time around Jupiter. Despite this, the tidal forces from the giant planet are so strong that it, like Io, Europa and Ganymede, rotates synchronously: the planet is always visible from one hemisphere of Callisto, and never from the other. That is, this satellite orbits six times farther from the gas giant than the Moon from Earth. The average distance of Callisto from Jupiter is 1.88 million km. At the same time, it is almost three times lighter than the smallest planet in the Solar System. With an average diameter of 4,821 km, it is the third largest satellite in the Solar System and is only 1% smaller than Mercury. It is the second largest satellite of the giant planet. The mystery of Callisto is mostly that we know very little about it at all. Now it’s time to meet the third objective of the JUICE mission - the mysterious Callisto. We have already told you that the automatic scout will be able to see interesting things on the cracked ice ball of Europa and the largest satellite of the Solar System, Ganymede. Two cameras in the visible range, three spectrographs operating in the visible, ultraviolet and microwave spectrum, a laser altimeter, a radar and a gravitational anomaly detector are located on board the device. There it will begin studying the planet’s icy moons. It will spend the next few years in space before reaching the Jupiter system in the early 2030s. On April 14, the JUICE spacecraft, created by the European Space Agency (ESA), launched from the Kourou Spaceport in French Guiana. When it arrives in the vicinity of the gas giant in the early 2030s and begins to study its system, one of its targets will be the mysterious Callisto, the planet’s second largest moon. In all, I hope this blog helped outline the main points to remember about the four Galilean Moons of Jupiter.The JUICE mission set off on its journey to Jupiter on April 14. One fun fact about Callisto- its surface is asymmetric causing the trailing hemisphere to be lighter than the leading one. This cratering is due to the fact that Callisto’s surface is very old, and there is no geological activity such as volcanism or plate tectonics to cover the craters. In class we learned that Callisto represented cratering. Callisto is unique because it does not have orbital resonance that is attributable to the other three Galilean Moons and therefore Callisto does not experience tidal heating. You are probably wondering what this giant moon is made of: silicate rock and water ice. ![]() One cool thing about Ganymede is that is has a magnetosphere due to the convection process. ![]() ![]() That is because Ganymede is the largest moon in the Solar System! The surface of Ganymede has both old and young features, with the potential of an ocean deep within. Unfortunately, although Europa seems to have the most hope for life, there are no future missions in the next few years scheduled to check it out. There is the potential of water on Europa as the fly-by mission of 1989 showed a young surface, but there is no solidified evidence. Europa’s atmosphere contains abundant oxygen, which is one of it’s most intriguing characteristics when thinking about other life forms. From the diagram above, it is easy to see that Europa is the smallest of the four Galilean Moons, yet it is still a large moon in comparison to others within the solar system. Must be entertaining to see □Īfter Io we have Europa, what is potentially the best current option for a viable life form in addition to Earth. Most importantly, it is key to remember that Io is the most geologically active object in the Solar System. The volcanic activity is the reason for different colorings and the surface changes on Io, and it’s material also creates Io’s thin atmosphere. This volcanic activity is primarily due to tidal heating. Io is the fourth largest moon in the solar system, the innermost moon to Jupiter, and is known for its volcanic activity. Therefore I am using this blog as an opportunity to discuss the four largest moons of Jupiter: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Castillo. With the constant discovery of more and more objects in space, it is difficult to keep track of the planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and exosolar planets that we already know and love. ![]()
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