From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ganymede
[p]
is the largest of the 95 known
moons
of the
planet Jupiter
. It is also the largest moon in the
Solar System
. Ganymede is larger in
diameter
than the
planet Mercury
, but has only about half of its
mass
as Ganymede is much less
dense
. Ganymede is part of a group called the
Galilean Satellites
. These also include
Io
,
Europa
and
Callisto
.
Galileo Galilei
discovered this moon in 1610.
[4]
Simon Marius
suggested the name "Ganymede" soon after. In
Greek mythology
, Ganymede was
Zeus'
cup-bearer.
[5]
This name and the names of the other Galilean satellites were not favoured for a long time, and were not put into common use until the mid-20th century. Instead, it is simply referred to by its
Roman numeral
designation (a system that was introduced by Galileo) as
"
Jupiter III
"
or as the "third satellite of Jupiter".
[6]
Ganymede is the only Galilean moon of Jupiter named after a
male
figure.
Ganymede is composed of roughly equal amounts of
silicate rock
and water ice.
[7]
Its body has an iron-rich, liquid core, and an
internal ocean
that may contain more water than all of Earth's oceans together.
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
Its surface has dark regions, with
impact craters
dated to four billion years ago. This covers about a third of the satellite. Lighter regions, crosscut by grooves and ridges and only slightly less ancient, cover the rest. The cause of the light terrain's disrupted geology is not fully known, but was likely the result of
tectonic
activity caused by
tidal heating
.
[13]
Ganymede is also the only known moon to have a
magnetic field
of its own.
[14]
- [p]
^
The name "Ganymede" is said as /
Gan-ee-Meed
/.
- ↑
"Ganymede: Facts and Figures"
.
Solar System Exploration
. Archived from
the original
on 2007-08-08
. Retrieved
2007-12-07
.
- ↑
Using the mean radius
- ↑
3.0
3.1
Yeomans, Donald K. (2006-07-13).
"Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters"
. JPL Solar System Dynamics
. Retrieved
2007-11-05
.
- ↑
Galilei, G.;
Sidereus Nuncius
Archived
2009-08-23 at the
Wayback Machine
(March 13, 1610)
- ↑
Marius, S.; (1614);
Mundus Iovialis anno M.DC.IX Detectus Ope Perspicilli Belgici
[1]
, where he
attributes the suggestion
to
Johannes Kepler
- ↑
"Satellites of Jupiter"
.
The Galileo Project
. Retrieved
2007-11-24
.
- ↑
Chang, Kenneth (March 12, 2015).
"Suddenly, it seems, water is everywhere in Solar System"
.
New York Times
. Retrieved
March 12,
2015
.
- ↑
Staff (March 12, 2015).
"NASA's Hubble observations suggest underground ocean on Jupiter's largest moon"
.
NASA News
. Retrieved
2015-03-15
.
- ↑
"Jupiter moon Ganymede could have ocean with more water than Earth ? NASA"
.
Russia Today (RT)
. 13 March 2015
. Retrieved
2015-03-13
.
- ↑
Clavin, Whitney (1 May 2014).
"Ganymede may harbor 'club sandwich' of oceans and ice"
.
NASA
. Jet Propulsion Laboratory
. Retrieved
2014-05-01
.
- ↑
Vance, Steve; Bouffard, Mathieu; Choukroun, Mathieu; Sotina, Christophe (12 April 2014).
"Ganymede's internal structure including thermodynamics of magnesium sulfate oceans in contact with ice"
.
Planetary and Space Science
.
96
: 62.
Bibcode
:
2014P&SS...96...62V
.
doi
:
10.1016/j.pss.2014.03.011
. Retrieved
2014-05-02
.
- ↑
Staff (1 May 2014).
"Video (00:51) - Jupiter's 'Club Sandwich' Moon"
.
NASA
. Retrieved
2014-05-02
.
- ↑
Tidal heating: the huge force of Jupiter's gravitation deforms the satellite as it swings round its orbit. The orbit is not circular, and this sets up the stresses which cause the tectonic activity.
- ↑
"Ganymede: Facts"
.
science.nasa.gov
. Retrieved
2024-04-04
.