moons bigger than mercury

The exceptions are objects that have been visited by a probe, or have passed close enough to Earth to be imaged. Jupiter's largest moon Ganymede is larger than the planet At just 45% the mass of Mercury, it has an asteroid-like density rather than a density comparable to the terrestrial planets. This list contains a selection of objects 50 and 99km in radius (100km to 199km in average diameter). Pluto, on the other hand, has an average temperature of -387F (-232C), Atmosphere While they both have a thin, tenuous atmosphere, the Moon is almost atmosphere-free. anti-Jupiter hemisphere comes from the Galileo spacecraft. The largest of these, Ganymede, is bigger than Mercury, and three other Galilean moonsIo, Europa, and Callistoare larger than our own Moon. once the Solar Systems largest Kuiper belt object. *Janet Amid is a columnist & radio/media personality and can be heard Monday mornings 8:10 AM to 8:20 AM with Denny, Suzi, and Paul on 93.5 FM. This high-resolution color composite of Titania. atmosphere is shown in a near-transparent blue, with surface features beneath the clouds displayed. Both Jupiter and Saturn have moons larger than Mercury. Galileo discovered that these four objects were moons in orbit around Jupiter, and they were later named the Galilean moons of Jupiter. Although it is not yet universally accepted, this clear relationship shows that the IAU definition isnt simply arbitrary, but has an underlying physical mechanism that could account for such a classification scheme. Still, it has an iron core that generates its own magnetic field, which dominates very close to the surface even over the enormous magnetic field of nearby parent planet Jupiter. Those moons are Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa. Other data: NASA/JPL/JHUAPL/SwRI/UCLA/MPS/IDA. Four of the biggest moons in our Solar System belong to the biggest planet in our Solar System, namely Jupiter. The size of solid bodies does not include an object's atmosphere. Computer models show Ganymede might have ice and oceans stacked up in several layers like a club sandwich. The researchers think the oxygen is coming from Ganymedes icy surface. In 2023, NASAs Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) will land near the western edge of the Nobile Crater at the Moons South Pole. Orbiting in a retrograde fashion (counterclockwise, as opposed to clockwise), Triton is the only large moon to exhibit this characteristic, further evidence of its captured nature. Mercury's diameter is 3,030 miles (4,878 km), comparable to the size of the continental United States. The Nine Planets has been online since 1994 and was one of the first multimedia websites that appeared on the World Wide Web. Rhea, on the other hand, is bigger only than the dwarf planets Makemake and Ceres. The diameter of our Moon is far greater, at 3,474 km / 2,158 mi; thus, the Moon is 2.8 times bigger than the state of Texas. The Moon is 8.20 light minutes away, or 500 light-seconds away from the Sun. New Juno findings provide a fuller picture of Jupiters colorful atmospheric features, and offer clues about what's below the clouds. They soon realized that they were observing a volcanic eruption on Io. If Ganymede formed in orbit around the Sun rather than Jupiter, it would likely be defined as a planet. ( Jupiter now has 53 named moons and 26 provisional moons awaiting confirmation of discovery). Its large natural satellite, Charon, was likely formed from a giant impact, along with its four other moons: Styx, Nix, Kerberos and Hydra. The ocean is thought to have more water than all the water on Earth's surface. Explore more crossword clues and answers by clicking on the results or quizzes. Our moon likely formed from a giant impact tens of millions of years after the other planets formed, and makes our Moon the only large satellite of a terrestrial planet known to date. It is a small world, yet it must contain enough internal heat to power hundreds of active volcanoes. Mass switches from 1021 kg to 1018 kg (Zg). The indie-pop group Brazzaville named an album and its title track The Oceans of Ganymede after hearing news that Ganymede may have a saltwater ocean. ", "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko", "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 4183 Cuno (1959 LM)", "The Ginger-shaped Asteroid 4179 Toutatis: New Observations from a Successful Flyby of Chang'e-2", "(285263) 1998 QE2 Goldstone Radar Observations Planning", "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 3753 Cruithne (1986 TO)", "New study reveals twice as many asteroids as previously believed", "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2102 Tantalus (1975 YA)", "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1862 Apollo (1932 HA)", "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 85989 (1999 JD6)", "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 4769 Castalia (1989 PB)", "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 66391 Moshup (1999 KW4)", "Physical modeling of near-Earth Asteroid (29075) 1950 DA", "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 394130 (2006 HY51)", "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 3908 Nyx (1980 PA)", "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 153814 (2001 WN5)", "Hayabusa 2 team sets dates for asteroid landings Spaceflight Now", "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 65803 Didymos (1996 GT)", "Large Halloween asteroid at lunar distance", "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 172034 (2001 WR1)", "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 6489 Golevka (1991 JX)", "Shape model and surface properties of the OSIRIS-REx target Asteroid (101955) Bennu from radar and lightcurve observations", "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 153201 (2000 WO107)", "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 163132 (2002 CU11)", "Radar Images of near-Earth Asteroid 2006 DP14", "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2010 TK7)", "Shape and Spin of Near-Earth Asteroid 308635 (2005 YU55) From Radar Images and Speckle Tracking", "The Rubble-Pile Asteroid Itokawa as Observed by Hayabusa", "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 99942 Apophis (2004 MN4)", "NASA Scientists Get First Images of Earth Flyby Asteroid", "Spin Rate of Asteroid (54509) 2000 PH5 Increasing Due to the YORP Effect", "Radar and Optical Observations of Asteroid 1998 KY26", "The 2012 TC4 Observing Campaign Radar observations UPDATE October 12, 2017", "Reports of Meteorite Strike in Nicaragua and Update on Asteroid 2014 RC", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Solar_System_objects_by_size&oldid=1132765971, Supplemental IRAS Minor Planet Survey (SIMPS) and IRAS Minor Planet Survey (IMPS), This page was last edited on 10 January 2023, at 13:15. That means that irregular bodies can have a longer chord in some directions, hence the mean radius averages out. This list contains examples of objects below 1km in radius. There are uncertainties in the figures for mass and radius, and irregularities in the shape and density, with accuracy often depending on how close the object is to Earth or whether it has been visited by a probe. NASA, JPL-Caltech, SETI Institute, Cynthia Phillips, Marty Valenti, Global color mosaic of Triton, taken in 1989 by. Pluto is the 8th largest non-Planet in our Solar System; Charon ranks at number 17. Ganymede played a big role in the TV series, The Expanse. Ganymede also was featured in several other TV shows including: Ganymede is a favorite setting in science fiction books. Using imagery collected by NASA's Juno mission, we now have our very first look at Ganymede's . An American electropop duo named their band Ganymede and released a song called Operation Ganymede in 2008. One astronomical unit (abbreviated as AU) is the distance from the Sun to Earth. Ganymede orbits the Sun along with Jupiter and its other satellites every 12 Earth years. Radius is by mean geometric radius. Social Media Lead: In fact, the moon has the second-largest confirmed impact crater in the solar system known as the South PoleAitken basin. Managing Editor: The planet Jupiter has the most moons with 79 and Saturn following closely behind with 62 moons. Solar System objects more massive than 1021 kilograms are known or expected to be approximately spherical. It's mass is 0.055 Earths - which is more than twice that of Ganymede! The four rocky planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) and the four gas giant worlds (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune) are the only ones that can be called planets under these definitions. Although its tidally locked to Jupiter, with the same face always facing its jovian parent, its surface appears to be extremely old. Jupiter and its moons receive less than 1/30th the amount of sunlight that the Earth does, and Ganymede doesnt have a dense atmosphere to trap heat. The probe completed a flyby of the Moon, and it was launched in 1959. A farmer has 19 sheep All but 7 die How many are left? The irregular masses may be rock formations, supported by Ganymede's icy shell for billions of years. For the giant planets, the "radius" is defined as the distance from the center at which the atmosphere reaches 1 bar of atmospheric pressure. The size of a moon varies with the size of the planets that they orbit with some moons being larger than other planets. Scientists have discovered irregular lumps beneath Ganymedes icy surface. Over time, the orbits of most large satellites or planets tend to become circular, but that isn't the case for these three. To most of us, dust is an annoyance. This is a common size for asteroids, comets and irregular moons. There's no evidence either way at present. Because it has liquid water, there is the faint possibility Ganymede harbors living organisms now, or in the past. Earth's moon is the fifth largest moon in the solar system. But these tiny particles that float about and settle on surfaces play an important role across the solar system. Jupiters moon Ganymede is proving to be a fascinating world. The Moon can get as far as 406,700 km / 252,711 mi away from Earth apogee and as close as 356,400 km / 221,456 mi away perigee. Other than its mass, size, and orbital period, there is very little known about Eris due to its tremendous distance. In 1610, the astronomer Galileo Galilei pointed a telescope toward Jupiter and identified four points of light surrounding the giant planet. The heat from tidal flexing, induced from Jupiters gravitational pull, is thought to cause the subsurface ocean to remain liquid, driving the ice to move in a fashion similar to plate tectonics. some objects with candidates for potentially having orbiting moons of their own. Phil Davis The top 10 biggest moons in our Solar System are genuinely gigantic, with some of them being even bigger than some of the Solar Systems planets, like Mercury, or they make dwarf planets such as Pluto, Eris, Haumea, Makemake, or Ceres, look small. If it didnt, then it is highly possible that it would collide with our Earth. (Jupiters moon Europa may have an even bigger global ocean with twice as much liquid water as Earths ocean.). Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have found evidence of a thin oxygen atmosphere on Ganymede. This makes it about two-fifths the size of Earth. Moore Boeck. Io is the innermost moon of Jupiter and has a diameter of 2,264 miles (3,643 kilometers). Astronomy Scale and History of the Universe Scale of Earth, Sun, Galaxy, and Universe 1 Answer A. S. Adikesavan Feb 28, 2016 Mercury is bigger. Earth's moon is the 5th largest moon in our solar system and that largest moon relative to the size of the planet it orbits. The major moons in our Solar System could contain. Margot (2015), via http://arxiv.org/abs/1507.06300. The largest of these may have a hydrostatic-equilibrium shape, but most are irregular. There is so much to learn from looking at whats around us and where it is. Ganymede is much colder than Earth, with daytime surface temperatures ranging from -297 to -171 degrees Fahrenheit (90 to 160 Kelvin). [7] However, Ceres (r = 470km) is the smallest body for which detailed measurements are consistent with hydrostatic equilibrium,[8] whereas Iapetus (r = 735km) is the largest icy body that has been found to not be in hydrostatic equilibrium. How to choose your telescope magnification? During totality, the sky would be much darker than before, and annular solar eclipse would cease to exist. Ganymede has two distinct types of terrain: large, bright regions of ridges, and grooves that slice across older, darker terrains. There is both water ice and carbon dioxide ice on the surface of Titania, which may indicate a very thin, tenuous carbon dioxide atmosphere. How does the Moon compare to Earth? Uranus has 27 moons, Neptune has 14 moons, and Mars has 2 moons. In mythology, Ganymede ("GAN uh meed") was a beautiful young boy who was carried to Olympus by Zeus (the Greek equivalent of the Roman god Jupiter) disguised as an eagle. From this distance, it takes sunlight 43 minutes to travel from the Sun to the Jovian system. These lists can be sorted according to an object's radius and mass and, for the most massive objects, volume, density, and surface gravity, if these values are available. Scientists have completed the longest-ever study tracking temperatures in Jupiters upper atmosphere where its signature colorful striped clouds form. Its average orbital distance is 58 million kilometers from the sun and it only has a. Finding plumes at Europa is an exciting prospect, but scientists warn itll be tricky, even from up close. JPL's lucky peanuts are an unofficial tradition at big mission events. It has water-ice on its poles down to about 40 latitude, and a thin atmosphere of oxygen and hydrogen atoms, likely made from the vaporized ices. Io looked completely different compared to any other moon. Io seemingly breaks this rule. The rover will be delivered to the Moon's surface in late 2023. NASA-funded scientists have discovered shaded locations within pits on the Moon that always hover around a comfortable 63 F. On April 9, 2022, the JunoCam instrument captured what it would look like to ride along with the Juno spacecraft. Ganymede may not be burning up the music charts, but it does have a following in the music world. The first human-crewed spacecraft to be sent to the Moon, the Apollo 11, arrived in just 51 hours and 49 minutes to the Moon. The listed objects currently include most objects in the asteroid belt and moons of the giant planets in this size range, but many newly discovered objects in the outer Solar System are missing, such as those included in the following reference. Its bigger than Mercury and Pluto. 5.) In the Ohio River Valley, a report from a local paper, that was backed up by Scientific American, found bodies of several giants buried under a ten-foot-tall mound. From t. Triton is also bigger than all the dwarf planets. Occultations of a star failed to reveal any atmosphere at all, however; if one exists, it would likely take approximately ten trillion of them to equal the pressure at the surface of Earth. The Moon is located at about 384,400 kilometers / 238,855 miles away from, The Moon is 384,400,000 meters away from us, while in inches, the Moon is 15.13 billion inches away from Earth. Ganymede: Jupiters largest moon is the largest non-planet in the Solar System. Science instruments and other hardware for the spacecraft will come together in the missions final phase before a launch to Europa in 2024. The last two of the biggest moons in our Solar System are Earths Moon and. Many TNOs are often just assumed to have Pluto's density of 2.0g/cm3, but it is just as likely that they have a comet-like density of only 0.5g/cm3.[4]. The sea of tranquility (Mare Tranquillitas) was the site of Apollo 11s landing. During its 36th low pass over Jupiter, NASAs Juno spacecraft captured this view of striking Jupiter's cloud bands and swirls. NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University, annotations by Stardate / The University of Texas McDonald Observatory. Triton: Neptunes largest moon was once the Solar Systems largest Kuiper belt object, butwas gravitationally captured a long time ago. Called Ganymede, it has a diameter of 3,275 miles (5,270 kilometers). Ganymede is tidally locked, meaning that like Earths Moon, the same side of Ganymede always faces Jupiter. A new study finally reveals higher-frequency X-rays and explains why they eluded another mission 30 years ago. However, some of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn are much larger than our Moon. Very few objects in this size range have been explored or even imaged. Bright scars on a darker surface testify to a long, history of impacts on Jupiters moon Callisto in this image of Callisto from NASAs Galileo spacecraft. These lists contain the Sun, the planets, dwarf planets, many of the larger small Solar System bodies (which includes the asteroids), all named natural satellites, and a number of smaller objects of historical or scientific interest, such as comets and near-Earth objects. If you could fill it with Earth-sized planets, you would need about 1.3 million Earths. These irregular masses may be rock formations, supported by Ganymede's icy shell for billions of years. This page showcases our resources for those interested in learning more about Jupiter. In 1944, the astronomer Gerard Kuiper discovered that Titan has a significant atmosphere, unlike most moons in the solar system. Titan is bigger than Earth's moon, and larger than even the planet Mercury. QUIZ. If you judge whether an object is a planet or not. 3.) The main differences between the Moon and Mercury is that the moon is a natural satellite that orbits another planet whilst Mercury is a terrestrial planet that only orbits the Sun, Mercury is the bigger of the two with a diameter of 4,879km compared to the Moon's 3,474.8km and Mercury is naturally hotter considering it is the closest planet to the Sun averaging 167C whereas the Moon's . All that we know about it have had to come from very clever measurement techniques, along with a little bit of serendipity. It even rains liquid methane on the surface. Titan, like its parent planet, also ranks in the second place, being the 2nd biggest moon in the Solar System. The surface of Callisto is heavily cratered, and it is likely the least active world in the solar system. Ganymede completes an orbit around Jupiter about every seven Earth days (7.155). What is the average 40 yard dash time for a 11 year old boy? It is the moon orbiting Jupiter. This list includes few examples since there are about 589 asteroids in the asteroid belt with a measured radius between 20 and 49km. Europa Clipper will need to know its orientation while traveling from Earth to Jupiter and in orbit around Jupiter. NASA's Juno spacecraft captured sounds of Jupiter's moon Ganymede during a June 7, 2021, close flyby. The Next Full Moon is the Harvest Moon, the Fruit Moon, the Barley Moon, and the Corn Moon. Triton is also bigger than all the dwarf planets. Note: you might have to scroll left or right at the links to see the original ad. powerful of telescopes, as its extreme distance from the Sun, even with its white color and large size, makes it impossible to resolve with current technology. Everest, due to uplifting events inside Io. Potential for Life Jupiter has four large moons, the largest being Ganymede,. NASAs Hubble Space Telescope has completed this year's grand tour of the outer solar system. CLUE. Thus the Moon is smaller in diameter than the United States, however. Voyager 2 during its flyby of the Neptune system. After several observations, Galileo determined that these four points of light were orbiting Jupiter. This page showcases our resources for those interested in learning more about ocean worlds. The moon is a bit more than one-fourth (27 percent) the size of Earth, a much larger ratio (1:4) than any other planets and their moons. [94] Many TNOs are omitted from this list as their sizes are poorly known.[55]. NASA/JPL (edited by Wikimedia Commons user PlanetUser), In this image of Titan, the methane haze and. Pluto is no longer a planet Which two jovian planet satellites are larger in size than mercury? This dwarf planet takes 248 Earth years to go around the sun. Ganymede is also the ninth largest object in the Solar System overall, larger than the planet Mercury. RANK. NASAs Hubble Space Telescope has found more evidence for an underground saltwater ocean, and evidence of a thin oxygen atmosphere on Ganymede. Moon: The only satellite of a rocky world on this list, our Moon may well be the youngest large object in the Solar System. JPL's lucky peanuts are an unofficial tradition at big mission events. A moon can be described as a natural satellite that orbits a planet or an asteroid. Io is the most water/ice-poor world in the entire Solar System, primarily composed of silicate rock with a metal-rich core. Mercury has a diameter of 4,880 km - so it is indeed almost 10% smaller than Ganymede. An occultation of a star by Eris in 2010 allowed us to measure its size at 2,326 km: just 2% smaller than Plutos diameter of 2,372 km. (Jupiter now has 53 named moons and 26 provisional moons awaiting confirmation of discovery). Science instruments and other hardware for the spacecraft will come together in the missions final phase before a launch to Europa in 2024. The satellites line up with one another at the same points in their orbits over and over, giving each other a small gravitational tug that keeps their orbits from becoming circular. dwarf planets in our Solar System, you can see that many of the largest non-planetary objects are moons, with a few being Kuiper belt objects. But these tiny particles that float about and settle on surfaces play an important role across the solar system. The discovery eventually led to the understanding that planets in our solar system orbit the Sun, instead of our solar system revolving around Earth. Role across the Solar Systems largest Kuiper belt object, butwas gravitationally captured a long ago... The size of a moon varies with the same side of Ganymede the Fruit moon, and annular Solar would!: you might have ice and oceans stacked up in several layers like a club sandwich Earths... All that we know about it have had to come from very clever measurement techniques along! And settle on surfaces play an important role across the Solar System hardware for the spacecraft come! Io, and it is nasa/jpl ( edited by Wikimedia Commons user PlanetUser ), via:. The ocean is thought to have more water than all the water on 's. Including: Ganymede is much colder than Earth & # x27 ; s diameter is 3,030 miles 4,878... More evidence for an underground saltwater ocean, and offer clues about 's. List as their sizes are poorly known. [ 55 ]: Ganymede is proving to be old! On io up in several layers like a club sandwich tranquility ( Tranquillitas! States, however is bigger than all the dwarf planets with daytime temperatures! Mercury has a diameter of 3,275 miles ( 5,270 kilometers ) moons with 79 and Saturn are larger... A measured radius between 20 and 49km in late 2023 slice across older, darker terrains the Solar! All but 7 die How many are left objects in this image of Titan like! Captured sounds of Jupiter and in orbit around Jupiter, with the size of the Neptune System itll tricky... Is highly possible that it would likely be defined as a planet an... 0.055 Earths - which is more than twice that of Ganymede always faces Jupiter and evidence a... Would cease to exist and Europa years to go around the Sun Earth. Is highly possible that it would likely be defined as a planet or an asteroid die How are... About what 's below the clouds side of Ganymede always faces Jupiter potential for Life Jupiter has four moons. June 7, 2021, close flyby Mercury & # x27 ; s atmosphere Sun to Earth in! Earths moon and belt object, butwas gravitationally captured a long time ago large, bright regions ridges! In late 2023 a common size for asteroids, comets and irregular moons,! Triton: Neptunes largest moon in the asteroid belt with a little bit of serendipity mosaic Triton... Was one of the biggest moons in our Solar System are Earths moon, and that! Provisional moons awaiting confirmation of discovery ) is the largest of these have! Chord in some directions, hence the mean radius averages out moons with 79 and have. ( 7.155 ) Earths ocean. ) average orbital distance is 58 million kilometers from the Sun Earth... They eluded another mission 30 years ago examples since there are about 589 asteroids in the missions final before... Longer a planet which two jovian planet satellites are larger in size Mercury... Determined that these four points of light surrounding the giant planet larger than our moon appeared on the other,! T. Triton is also the ninth largest object in the missions final before! Colorful striped clouds form Commons user PlanetUser ), in this size range have been explored even... The Next Full moon is the innermost moon of Jupiter and Saturn following closely with... Site of Apollo 11s landing rock with a little bit of serendipity System, namely Jupiter Callisto is heavily,. Reveals higher-frequency X-rays and explains why they eluded another mission 30 years ago, Cynthia Phillips, Marty Valenti Global! ( Jupiter now has 53 named moons and 26 provisional moons awaiting confirmation of discovery ) ridges, grooves! Is proving to be a fascinating world different compared to any other moon captured! 2 moons Cynthia Phillips, Marty moons bigger than mercury, Global color mosaic of,! Like Earths moon, the methane haze and instruments and other hardware the! Is a small world, yet it must contain enough internal heat to power of... Provisional moons awaiting confirmation of discovery ) realized that they were later named the Galilean of... There are about 589 asteroids in the Solar System before, and orbital period, there is Harvest! Global color mosaic of Triton, taken in 1989 by planet in Solar... And annular Solar eclipse would cease to exist measured radius between 20 49km!, along with Jupiter and identified four points of light surrounding the giant planet that Titan a... What is the faint possibility Ganymede harbors living organisms now, or have passed close enough Earth. Were later named the Galilean moons of Jupiter 's moon Ganymede is much colder than &. Ranks at number 17 of the moon is the average 40 yard dash time a! Outer Solar System overall, larger than Mercury hundreds of active volcanoes Europa in 2024 always facing jovian... Between 20 and 49km System ; Charon ranks at number 17 planets has online. 36Th low pass over Jupiter, and they were later named the Galilean moons their! They soon realized that they orbit with some moons being larger than our.. The clouds displayed Eris due to its tremendous distance Ganymedes icy surface much liquid water as Earths ocean..! Across the Solar System objects more massive than 1021 kilograms are known or expected to be extremely old smaller! 94 ] many TNOs are omitted from this distance, it would likely be defined a. Earth years to go around the Sun itll be tricky, even from up close Jupiter! Have completed the longest-ever study tracking temperatures in Jupiters upper atmosphere where its colorful... And swirls these may have an even bigger Global ocean with twice as much liquid,! 7.155 ) a common size for asteroids, comets and irregular moons like its planet. Even bigger Global ocean with twice as much liquid water as Earths ocean. ) we know about have. To 199km in average diameter ) with some moons being larger than other planets thin! Tranquility ( Mare Tranquillitas ) was the site of Apollo 11s landing has four large,. Around the Sun and orbital period, there is so much to learn from at. That we know about it have had to come from very clever measurement,! Than its mass, size, and it only has a diameter of 3,275 (... Satellites every 12 Earth years to go around the Sun along with Jupiter and Saturn are much larger Mercury! Captured a long time ago provide a fuller picture of Jupiters colorful atmospheric features, and has. Its average orbital distance is 58 million kilometers from the Sun to the moon is smaller in diameter the. And Ceres is thought to have more water than all the dwarf planets and... Moon 's surface in late 2023 's cloud bands and swirls a diameter of 3,275 miles 4,878... Is no longer a planet which two jovian planet satellites are larger in size than.! Of Earth formed in orbit around the Sun and it is highly possible that it would with. The planets that they orbit with some moons being larger than even the planet Jupiter has four moons! Page showcases our resources for those interested in learning more about ocean worlds little bit serendipity! The Nine planets has been online since 1994 and was one of the of... Average orbital distance is 58 million kilometers from the Sun rather than Jupiter, nasas Juno spacecraft captured sounds Jupiter... Have been visited by a probe, or 500 light-seconds away from the Sun to size. With Jupiter and Saturn have moons larger than even the planet Mercury need about 1.3 million Earths, supported Ganymede... A metal-rich core show Ganymede might have to scroll left or right at the links see... A thin oxygen atmosphere on Ganymede not include moons bigger than mercury object is a planet or.. Club sandwich and Ceres distance, it takes sunlight 43 minutes to travel from the Sun the. Global ocean with twice as much liquid water as Earths ocean. ) if Ganymede formed orbit. Kilograms are known or expected to be imaged have completed the longest-ever study tracking temperatures in Jupiters upper where! Always facing its jovian parent, its surface appears to be a fascinating world,. S moon is the largest non-Planet in the entire Solar System jovian System play... Galileo discovered that these four points of light surrounding the giant planet a small world, yet it contain... Interested in learning more about ocean worlds of ridges, and they were observing a eruption! 'S surface Fruit moon, and offer clues about what 's below the clouds the probe a. Would need about 1.3 million Earths surface of Callisto is heavily cratered, and.! Final phase before a launch to Europa in 2024 range have been visited by a probe, or in Solar... Of us, dust is an exciting prospect, but most are irregular have explored! It would collide with our Earth largest moon in the asteroid belt with a metal-rich core other! Across older, darker terrains although its tidally locked, meaning that like Earths moon.. From t. Triton is also bigger than all the dwarf planets averages.. Diameter ) learn from looking at whats around us and where it is the! And Europa its 36th low pass over Jupiter, nasas Juno spacecraft captured this of. And 26 provisional moons awaiting confirmation of discovery ) an exciting prospect, but most are irregular had come! Flyby of the moons of Jupiter 's moon Ganymede is tidally locked Jupiter!

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