Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection
Title:
Ganymede: The Largest Moon in the Solar System
Explanation:
If Ganymede orbited the Sun, it would be considered a planet. The reason is that Jupiter [ http://galileo.jpl.…]'s moon Ganymede [ http://www.seds.org…] is not only the largest moon in the Solar System [ http://www.seds.org…], it is larger than planets Mercury [ http://www.seds.org…] and Pluto [ http://dosxx.colora…]. The robot spacecraft Galileo [ http://www.jpl.nasa…] currently orbiting Jupiter [ http://www.seds.org…] has been able to zoom by Ganymede [ http://www.solarvie…] several times and snap many close-up pictures. Ganymede, shown above [ http://photojournal…] in its natural colors, sports a large oval dark region known as Galileo Regio [ http://www.jpl.nasa…]. In general, the dark regions on Ganymede [ http://sse.jpl.nasa…] are heavily cratered, implying they are very old, while the light regions are younger and dominated by unusual grooves [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. The origin of the grooves is still under investigation [ http://adsabs.harva…].
Credit and Copyright:
Galileo Project, JPL [ http://www.jpl.nasa…], NASA [ http://www.nasa.gov/]
keyword:
Jupiter
keyword:
Galilean Moon
keyword:
Ganymede
facet_where:
Ganymede
facet_where:
Mercury
facet_where:
Pluto
facet_where:
Jupiter
facet_where:
Colorado
facet_where:
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_what:
Galileo
facet_what:
Ganymede
facet_what:
Moon
facet_what:
Sun
facet_what:
Mercury
facet_what:
Pluto
facet_what:
Jupiter
facet_what:
solar system
facet_what:
moon
original url:
UID:
SPD-APOD-ap000620

Ganymede: The Largest Moon in the Solar System