Yet its mass is only one-third as great, which means its density (the mass divided by the volume) must be only one-third as great as well. Its noontime surface temperature is only 130 K (about 140 ☌ below freezing), so that water ice is stable (it never evaporates) on its surface year round.Ĭallisto has a diameter of 4820 kilometers, almost the same as the planet Mercury ( Figure 12.3). Callisto’s day thus equals its month: 17 days. Like our own Moon, Callisto rotates in the same period as it revolves, so it always keeps the same face toward Jupiter. Its distance from Jupiter is about 2 million kilometers, and it orbits the planet in 17 days. This makes it a convenient object with which other, more active, worlds can be compared. We begin our discussion of the Galilean moons with the outermost one, Callisto, not because it is remarkable but because it is not. Table 12.1 Callisto: An Ancient, Primitive World We include Titan, Saturn’s one big moon, here for comparison.) Table 12.1 summarizes some basic facts about these large moons (plus our own Moon for comparison). (Beginning in 2004, we received an even greater bonanza of information about Titan, obtained from the Cassini spacecraft and its Huygens probe, which landed on its surface. Explain how tidal forces generate the geological activity we see on Europa and Ioįrom 1996 to 1999, the Galileo spacecraft careered through the jovian system on a complex but carefully planned trajectory that provided repeated close encounters with the large Galilean moons.Describe the major distinguishing characteristic of Io.Explain what may be responsible for the unusual features on the icy surface of Europa.Explain the evidence for tectonic and volcanic activity on Ganymede.Describe the major features we can observe about Callisto and what we can deduce from them.We know a lot more about Io than we have done in the past thanks to NASA spacecraft Juno, which is still orbiting Jupiter after it’s launch in 2011.By the end of this section, you will be able to:.Instead, the mantle of Io is primarily made up of forsterite, and it’s core is likely molten and solid iron. We don’t think there’s any water under the surface of Io, like there is with many other moons.It takes little Io around 42 hours for it to complete one full orbit of giant Jupiter.Io was formed approximately 4.5 billion years ago, along with the rest of the solar system.Io has a yellow surface, due to the high amount of sulfur and volcanic activity.It is primarily made up of sulfur dioxide. Like some other large moons, Io actually has it’s own atmosphere, although it is quite thin.This volcano has a 126 mile (202km) diameter. It has hundreds of volcanoes on it’s surface, the biggest of which is called Loki Patera.It has the most active volcanoes of any moon or planet. Io is known for it’s volcanos, with some people calling it the volcano moon.Io became one of Zeus’s many lovers, which is where all the 4 Galilean moons take their name from. Io was a priestess of the Goddess Hera, wife of Zeus. Io takes it’s name from Greek mythology.Io orbits Jupiter at an approximately 262,000 mi (421,700 km) distance from the planets center.This makes it the 3rd largest of the 4 main moons. Io is the closest moon to Jupiter out of the Galilean moons, and the 5th closest out of all it’s moons.They are named this because they were all discovered first of Jupiter‘s moons, by Galileo Galilei. Lets learn some of the facts about the moon, Io. This moon famous for it’s large volcanoes and sky high temperatures has been the study of many astronomers over the years who wonder how it was formed. If you’re looking to learn some facts about the moon Io, then you’re in luck.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |