Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
July 10, 1996
Galileo Photographs Ganymede
Credit:
Galileo Mission
Team,
Galileo Spacecraft
NASA
Explanation: Ganymede's surface is slowly being pulled apart. This photo of Ganymede was released earlier today by the Galileo team at NASA. The Galileo Spacecraft arrived at Jupiter in December 1995. In late June, the spacecraft passed within 10,000 kilometers of Ganymede's icy surface, and took pictures showing complex surface details for the first time. The line-like features in this photo are sunlit ridges rising above Ganymede's ice-plains. The circular features are impact craters. Ganymede is the largest moon of Jupiter and hence the largest of the four Galilean satellites: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry
Bonnell (USRA).
NASA Technical Rep.:
Sherri
Calvo.
Specific rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA
at
NASA/
GSFC