Of the 79 moons that circle Jupiter, ganymede is the biggest one. We could consider it as a planet, since it is the largest moon in the entire solar system. Slightly larger than Mercury, but slightly smaller than Mars, this moon is finally visible to our eyes. These are the first images of Jupiter’s moon.
Throughout the universe (so far explored) ganymede It is the only satellite that has its own magnetic field. The attraction that Jupiter exerts on her reduces her field to a minimum, but it is existing.
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What’s more, few know is that Jupiter’s largest moon has an internal ocean. From the outside, this moon is a solid body, it is made up of silicates and a core rich in molten iron. However, about 200 kilometers from the surface, the ice sheets are present, which are protected by a last layer of liquid water. Which is believed to exist thanks to the heat emanating from the core of ganymede.
In a sense, Jupiter’s largest moon resembles Earth. Considering that in the solar system there are three large groups of planets: terrestrial or rocky (Venus, Mercury, Earth and Mars), gaseous (Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus) and dwarfs (Pluto, although it is in doubt), gamínedes might consider within the rock group.
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Gaminedes, the largest moon of Jupiter that can be an Earth
In recent days, the space probe Juno from NASA captured what would be the first view of Jupiter’s massive moon in 20 years. Being at a distance of 1,038 kilometers, Juno was able to photograph the moon’s craters and possible patterns related to plate tectonics.
“This is the closest a spacecraft has come to this gigantic moon in a generation”- Scott Bolton, Southwest Research Institute.
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In addition, the Hubble Telescope had already confirmed that Jupiter’s moon had a thin atmosphere, which contains oxygen. However, the atmosphere is too thin to allow the development of life.
But, on the outside gamínedes It looks like a first-time Earth. With dark and light regions, it has a magnetic field, an oxygenated atmosphere, remnants of solidified lava, and a liquid ocean.
The origin of Ganymede in mythology
It is said that in 1610 Galileo Galilei discovered the largest moon of Jupiter, at the same time that he discovered the moons Europa. At that time, the satellite would be named «Jupiter III» until Johannes Kepler decided to change it to «Ganymede».
Within Greek mythology, Ganymede represents an attractive Trojan prince who became the lover of various Greek gods. It is said that Zeus transformed into an eagle to kidnap him and take him to Mount Olympus to make him immortal. Like Zeus, the human being has been mesmerized by the beauty of Ganymede. Whether in human form or as the largest moon in the solar system, this is a unique object in the entire universe.
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