Ganymede: Jupiters largest moon is the largest non-planet in the Solar System. The eight planets of our Solar System and our Sun. Distance from Sun Ganymede is about 665,000 miles (1.07 million kilometers) from Jupiter, which orbits about 484 million miles (778 million kilometers) from the Sun. NASAs Juno spacecraft took the most recent images of Ganymedes surface during flybys in June 2021. a total of more than 400 active volcanoes, making it the most geologically active object of all. Jupiter has four large moons, the largest being Ganymede,. 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. Pluto is the 8th largest non-Planet in our Solar System; Charon ranks at number 17. With surface chemicals being actively transported to the subsurface ocean below, plus the hydrothermal heating from beneath, Europas oceans may potentially harbor extraterrestrial life. Pluto is smaller than Earth's moon. 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. Beneath its frozen, icy surface, a liquid water of ocean is heated by tidal forces from Jupiter. Its geological history also points to an active world, as giant ice mountains, snows, valleys, and sublimating plains show a frozen world in motion. Titan, like its parent planet, also ranks in the second place, being the 2nd biggest moon in the Solar System. Take an interactive tour of the solar system, or browse the site to find fascinating information, facts, and data about our planets, the solar system, and beyond. The Moon: Gari Arrillaga. It takes Callisto 17 Earth days to complete one orbit around Jupiter. Legendary British writer Arthur C. Clarke was inspired by images from Voyager 2 showing grooved ridges cutting across parts of Ganymede when he created Ganymede City for his novel 3001: The Final Odyssey. Clarke references Voyager in his sources and writes about his anticipation for more images from the Galileo spacecraft which started exploring Ganymede on June 27, 1996, just days before the book was published. What planets moons are larger than Pluto and mercury? P. Vernazza et al. Io is the innermost moon of Jupiter and has a diameter of 2,264 miles (3,643 kilometers). The size of solid bodies does not include an object's atmosphere. This makes it about two-fifths the size of Earth. Length of year About 12 Earth years. Identifying liquid water is crucial in the search for habitable worlds beyond Earth and in the search for life as we know it. Neptune's moon Proteus is on the edge.) Although Galileo discovered Io over 400 years ago, virtually everything about Io was a mystery until the Voyager flybys in the late 1970s. If Ganymede formed in orbit around the Sun rather than Jupiter, it would likely be defined as a planet. In 1610, Galileo discovered the four large moons of Jupiter. This page showcases our resources for those interested in learning more about Jupiter. 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. It isnt until you get all the way down to Sedna or Ceres that we find a world that doesnt fall into one of those two categories. NASA's Europa Clipper is on the Case, Hubble's Grand Tour of the Outer Solar System, NASA Outlines Challenges, Progress for Artemis Moon Missions, Mocha Swirls in Jupiter's Turbulent Atmosphere, NASA's Juno: Science Results Offer First 3D View of Jupiter Atmosphere, Are We Alone in the Universe? Is the Moon bigger than Mercury? Densities of various bodies in the Solar System. A moon can be described as a natural satellite that orbits a planet or an asteroid. ( Jupiter now has 53 named moons and 26 provisional moons awaiting confirmation of discovery). Titania is smaller than Pluto but bigger than Haumea, Makemake, and Ceres. Here are the 10 largest ones we have, along with what makes them so interesting. 25 results for "moons that are larger than mercury" hide this ad. 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. QUIZ. Ganymede was discovered by Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei on Jan. 7, 1610. Mercury has a diameter of 4,880 km - so it is indeed almost 10% smaller than Ganymede. Callisto has the oldest known surface in the solar system. At the same time, Io, Callisto, and Europa are smaller than Mercury but more prominent than all the dwarf planets. This is the time it takes Jupiter to orbit the Sun. In fact, Jupiter and Saturn have so many moons that scientists continue discovering more in their orbits. Ganymedes subterranean ocean could have more water than all the water on Earth's surface. The last two of the biggest moons in our Solar System are Earths Moon and Neptunes moon Triton. The Next Full Moon is the Harvest Moon, the Fruit Moon, the Barley Moon, and the Corn Moon. Pluto. Significantly smaller than Eris, Titania is under 1,600 km (1,000 miles) in diameter,and consists of approximately equal amounts of ice and rock. Its smoke-emitting cryovolcanoes point to a subsurface ocean and ongoing activity. Computer models show Ganymede might have ice and oceans stacked up in several layers like a club sandwich. Both Ganymede and Titan are bigger than Mercury; Ganymede's actually the biggest but Titan appears bigger because of its puffy atmosphere. Scientists first suspected Ganymede had an underground ocean in the 1970s. JPL's lucky peanuts are an unofficial tradition at big mission events. It may be similar in size to Ganymede, but Titan is a vastly different world. Titan is bigger than Earth's moon, and larger than even the planet Mercury. Ganymede orbits the Sun along with Jupiter and its other satellites every 12 Earth years. 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. was made from Voyager 2 images taken Jan. 24, 1986, as the spacecraft neared its closest approach to Uranus. For the small outer irregular moons of Uranus, such as Sycorax, which were not discovered by the Voyager 2 flyby, even different NASA web pages, such as the National Space Science Data Center[6] and JPL Solar System Dynamics,[5] give somewhat contradictory size and albedo estimates depending on which research paper is being cited. Huygens gave scientists their first good look at the surface, revealing a world that looked more like the Earth than a typical moon. Moon: The only satellite of a rocky world on this list, our Moon may well be the youngest large object in the Solar System. In 2023, NASAs Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) will land near the western edge of the Nobile Crater at the Moons South Pole. Moore Boeck. The spacecraft was about 500,000 kilometers (300,000 miles) away. (Jupiters moon Europa may have an even bigger global ocean with twice as much liquid water as Earths ocean.). Currently most of the objects of mass between 109 kg to 1012 kg (less than 1000 teragrams (Tg)) listed here are near-Earth asteroids (NEAs). Ganymede is the only moon known to have its own magnetic field a discovery made by NASAs Galileo spacecraft in 1996. Furthermore, it is believed that Ganymede may have an ocean of liquid water beneath its crust. Titan and Earth are the only two known worlds in the solar system where it rains. plumes of sulfur and sulfur dioxide that rise as high as 500 km (300 miles) above its surface. From t. Ganymede completes an orbit around Jupiter about every seven Earth days (7.155). Orbit the Sun in an ellipse and no other smaller, parent body. The Moon is the only natural and permanent satellite of Earth. Marsset, M., Bro, M., Vernazza, P. et al. Over time, the orbits of most large satellites or planets tend to become circular, but that isn't the case for these three. Rhea, on the other hand, is bigger only than the dwarf planets Makemake and Ceres. The maria or seas of the Moons surface. On:July 7, 2022 Asked by: Aniya Hackett [Total: 0Average: 0] Titanis the second largest moon in our solar system. This tells scientists that the ice is probably strong enough, at least near the surface, to support such rock masses from sinking to the bottom of the ice. 2009, p. 765, Tables 24.12. The Sun has a radius of 696.340 km / 432.685 mi and a diameter of 1.39 million km / 864.000 mi. The Next Full Moon is the Harvest Moon, the Fruit Moon, the Barley Moon, and the Corn Moon. Galileo even captured sounds of whistling and static caused by Ganymede's magnetosphere. Europa, one of the solar systems largest moons. NASA scientists are calling for a framework that provides context for findings related to the search for life. Hubble observations of Europa have revealed the presence of persistent water vapor but, mysteriously, only in one hemisphere. visible on the near site. Voyager 2 during its flyby of the Neptune system. Science instruments and other hardware for the spacecraft will come together in the missions final phase before a launch to Europa in 2024. Cryovolcanic plumes, similar to Saturns Enceladus, were first detected in 2013. 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. Many of the objects we currently think of as having some importance in the Solar System, such as Ceres, the largest asteroid (at #25), or Sedna, a possible Oort cloud object (at #23), dont come close to cracking the top 10. Along with many worlds on this list, Pluto likely has a liquid ocean beneath the surface, raising more questions about biochemistry and organics than it answers. Ganymede is the biggest moon in the Solar System, bigger than the planet Mercury and all the dwarf planets. They are shown here to scale with each other. Earth at 48% and Venus at 39% dominate. When it comes to other satellites, the Moon is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System. Since 1972, several NASA probes have explored Jupiter and its moons, including Ganymede: Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, Voyager 2, Galileo, Cassini-Huygens, New Horizons, and Juno. Ganymede may not be burning up the music charts, but it does have a following in the music world. (Why the uncertain number? NASAs Hubble Space Telescope has completed this year's grand tour of the outer solar system. Larger than Mercury and Pluto, and only slightly smaller than Mars, it would easily be classified as a planet if were orbiting . However, if we were to talk realistically, and include rests, sleep, eating time, flat levelness, and other things, it would probably take you around a year or less to walk around the Moon once. Very few objects in this size range have been explored or even imaged. The Huygens lander discovered methane lakes and even waterfalls on Titans surface, while Cassinis infrared imager was able to map Titans surface through the clouds. Another of the giant skeletons was buried in a clay coffin and an engraved stone tablet was also recovered. to scale in size but not in terms of orbital distances. Triton is also bigger than all the dwarf planets. Cold As Ice (Series) by Charles Sheffield, The Ice Orphan of Ganymede by Leonardo Ramirez, The Gentle Giants of Ganymede by James P. Hogan. Deep inside Ganymede, theres a metallic iron core that generates the moon's magnetic field. Observations suggest it has an underground ocean beneath the surface, possibly containing even more water than planet Earth possesses. 10.) 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. Number of digits not an endorsement of significant figures. VIPER is the first resource-mapping mission on the surface of another celestial body. The Next Full Moon is the Wolf Moon, Ice Moon, the Moon after Yule, and the Old Moon. This article includes a list of the most massive known objects of the Solar System and partial lists of smaller objects by observed mean radius. (2021) VLT/SPHERE imaging survey of the largest main-belt asteroids: Final results and synthesis. Values are diameters in kilometers. NASA Calls for New Framework, Hubble Finds Evidence of Persistent Water Vapor in One Hemisphere of Europa, Hubble Shows Winds in Jupiter's Great Red Spot Are Speeding Up, NASA's Artemis Rover to Land Near Nobile Region of Moon's South Pole, NASA to Announce Landing Site for Artemis Lunar Robotic Rover, Full Moon Guide: September - October 2021, NASA's Juno Celebrates 10 Years With New Infrared View of Moon Ganymede. The Solar System's Major Moons The Solar System contains 18 or 19 natural satellites of planets that are large enough for self-gravity to make them round. Titans atmosphere is the richest of any moon in the Solar System, with an atmospheric pressure at its surface greater than even that of Earth. Monocular vs. Binoculars- Which One is Best for Stargazing. In 2023, NASAs Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) will land near the western edge of the Nobile Crater at the Moons South Pole. The solar system contains hundreds of individual moons, the majority of which orbit Jupiter and Saturn. An Illustration of Jupiter and its Largest Moon, Ganymede Orbiting the planet Jupiter is the solar system's largest moon. The exceptions are objects that have been visited by a probe, or have passed close enough to Earth to be imaged. Its average orbital distance is 58 million kilometers from the sun and it only has a. Earth's Moon, Jupiter's moons Callisto, Io, and Europa, and Neptune's moon Triton are all larger than Pluto, but smaller than Mercury. Yet being a planet, by definition, isnt everything. Other data: NASA/JPL/JHUAPL/SwRI/UCLA/MPS/IDA. NASAs Hubble Space Telescope has found more evidence for an underground saltwater ocean, and evidence of a thin oxygen atmosphere on Ganymede. Ganymede and Jupiters other large moons (Io, Europa, and Callisto) likely formed from leftover material after Jupiter condensed out of the initial cloud of gas and dust surrounding the Sun, early in the history of our solar system. The furthest from Jupiter was called Callisto. It is 330,000 times more massive than Earth. That means that irregular bodies can have a longer chord in some directions, hence the mean radius averages out. This is a common size for asteroids, comets and irregular moons. This site is maintained by the Planetary Science Communications team at, Ganymede has an underground saltwater ocean, 40-Year Study Finds Mysterious Patterns in Temperatures at Jupiter, 10 Things: Dust in the Wind (on Mars and Well Beyond), NASA's LRO Finds Lunar Pits Harbor Comfortable Temperatures, NASA Begins Assembly of Europa Clipper Spacecraft, NASA Telescope Spots Highest-Energy Light Ever Detected From Jupiter, Europa Mission Dispatch: Tracking the Stars, NASA's Juno Spacecraft Hears' Jupiter's Moon, Are Water Plumes Spraying from Europa? https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Earth_moon_size_comparison.jpg, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Moons_of_solar_system_v7.jpg/900px-Moons_of_solar_system_v7.jpg, https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/RMIfO84UA4EU6IWRB6AlDqwWZ0zWHLjWnETJz3V5kgDqgvcHv0iNfiaOJ_4DA9JVbxxspWDd471IHSjnR9K0VrKsMLumdbPOpit8tbS2SHAt9_lmUpxdC_w7Ee-OGSkezQ5Xp1jjp0k, https://images.theconversation.com/files/284051/original/file-20190715-173360-1nn1to4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip. However, appearances can be deceiving. Callisto is the second-largest moon of Jupiter and the third-largest in the solar system overall, having a diameter of 2,995 miles (4,820 kilometers). This was a surprise for a moon only slightly larger than our moon. Unlike the other moons on this list so far, however, Europas icy surface and large volume make it the smoothest object in the Solar System, despite its striated appearance. This site is maintained by the Planetary Science Communications team at, 665,000 miles (1.07 million kilometers) from Jupiter, Mission to Jupiter: A History of the Galileo Project, 40-Year Study Finds Mysterious Patterns in Temperatures at Jupiter, 10 Things: Dust in the Wind (on Mars and Well Beyond), NASA's LRO Finds Lunar Pits Harbor Comfortable Temperatures, NASA Begins Assembly of Europa Clipper Spacecraft, NASA Telescope Spots Highest-Energy Light Ever Detected From Jupiter, Europa Mission Dispatch: Tracking the Stars, NASA's Juno Spacecraft Hears' Jupiter's Moon, Are Water Plumes Spraying from Europa? Mercury's diameter is 3,030 miles (4,878 km), comparable to the size of the continental United States. The reddish color by the pole is thought to be a result of ultraviolet light reacting with methane, similar to whats been seen more recently on Pluto, pointing towards a similar origin. Our 2021 round-up of NASA planetary science is packed with the years most spectacular images, ground-breaking discoveries, and incredible mission events. Titans atmosphere is the richest of any moon in the Solar System, with an atmospheric pressure at its surface greater than even that of Earth. Mass switches from 1021 kg to 1018 kg (Zg). If the idea that there is a large object some ~200 AU away, provisionally called either Planet Nine or Planet X turns out to be correct, it may knock everything on this list down a peg, or may even be classified as a planet itself. A shell of rock surrounds the core, and another icy shell surrounds the rock. The ninth-largest object (including the Sun) of the Solar System, it is the largest without a substantial atmosphere (albeit not the most massive one, which is Mercury ). To most of us, dust is an annoyance. Although Mercury is the smallest planet, it is still larger than Earth's moon. It is also bigger than Mercury and all the other dwarf planets. Ganymede is much colder than Earth, with daytime surface temperatures ranging from -297 to -171 degrees Fahrenheit (90 to 160 Kelvin). Both bright and dark rays of ejecta can be seen around Ganymede's craters. If we launched a fly-by mission to Eris in 2032, a gravity assist from Jupiter could get a spacecraft there in merely 24.7 years. The Galileo spacecraft discovered Ganymede's magnetic field in 1996, providing evidence to support the theory. This pattern in their orbits is called orbital resonance. Io turned out to be the most volcanically active world in the solar system, having over 400 confirmed active volcanoes. Four of the biggest moons in our Solar System belong to the biggest planet in our Solar System, namely Jupiter. 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. It was only ever studied up close once: by Voyager 2 in 1986. Earth's moon is the fifth largest moon in the solar system. To accomplish this, it will use the stars. Unlike bodies such as Haumea, the irregular bodies have a significantly non-ellipsoidal profile, often with sharp edges. The large craters on Ganymede are mostly flat, probably due to settling in the soft icy surface. Spacecraft images of Ganymede show its surface is a mix of two types of terrain. Until last month, Eris was, with the exception of some long-period comets, the most distant object known in the Solar System. Contents Is IO bigger than Mercury? However, some of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn are much larger than our Moon. is gigantic, and if it were hollow, you could fill it with around 64.3 million Earth moons. The only moons larger than Mercury are Ganymede and Titan. Jupiters moon Ganymede is proving to be a fascinating world. - WorldAtlas Is The Moon Larger Than Mercury? Irv Pollock must have felt that way anyhow! The surface area of the Moon is equivalent to the surface area of Russia, the United States, and Canada combined. If the Moon would be twice as big, then solar eclipses would be even more common. Solar System objects more massive than 1021 kilograms are known or expected to be approximately spherical. Eris: Nearly as large as Pluto but more massive, Eris current location, near the aphelion of its orbit, places it at approximately three times the Sun-Pluto distance. Jupiter's largest moon Ganymede is larger than the planet Titan orbits Saturn at a distance of 759,000 miles (1.2 million kilometers) and completes one orbit every 16 Earth days. and more than 100 mountains, many rising higher than Earths Mt. They soon realized that they were observing a volcanic eruption on Io. 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. Astronomically, bodies within the Solar System must achieve three criteria in order to gain the much-vaunted status of planet: In our Solar System, only eight worlds make the cut given those criteria. It's mass is 0.025 that of Earth. Mercury is the smallest planet by both mass and volume. However, this anomaly could also be caused by piles of rock at the bottom of the ice. The Juno spacecraft was most recent, taking detailed photographs of Ganymede in June 2021. Not only is it the largest moon in our solar system, bigger than the planet Mercury and the dwarf planet Pluto, but NASAs Hubble Space Telescope has found the best evidence yet for an underground saltwater ocean on Ganymede. Social Media Lead: For more about very small objects in the Solar System, see meteoroid, micrometeoroid, cosmic dust, and interplanetary dust cloud. Io is the most water/ice-poor world in the entire Solar System, primarily composed of silicate rock with a metal-rich core. A composite of ultraviolet, optical, and infrared light was used to construct this view. stitched together from many New Horizons images. (See also Visited/imaged bodies. Note that these are the only eight objects that meet all three of the planetary criteria as set forth by the IAU. Europa: The smallest and most hospitable of Jupiters four large moons, Europa is covered in water-ice with a subsurface, liquid ocean. Similar to Ganymede, Europa has a very thin atmosphere made mostly of oxygen, due to the sublimation of the volatile ices on its surface. Io: Jupiters volcanic world is constantly torn apart by tides, resurfacing itself via its molten lava interior. It has at least one natural satellite: Dysnomia, is whiter in color than either Triton or Pluto, contains surface ices and a thin atmosphere similar to both of those worlds, and takes 558 years to complete an orbit around the Sun. The Luna 1 probe traveled at around 10,500 km/hr, and it reached the Moon in just 36 hours. Rather than argue about classification, we should appreciate our cosmic backyard for exactly what it is, and all the riches contained therein. Based on where they are, the seven largest non-planets in the Solar System are all moons. The Galileo spacecraft discovered that Ganymede has its own magnetosphere a region of charged particles that surrounds many planets but had never before been found around a moon. 9.) It would still be far too thin to breathe, though. The discovery eventually led to the understanding that planets in our solar system orbit the Sun, instead of our solar system revolving around Earth. Smallest planet in the solar system.The smallest planet in our solar system and nearest to the Sun, Mercury is only slightly larger than Earth's Moon. Galileo discovered that these four objects were moons in orbit around Jupiter, and they were later named the Galilean moons of Jupiter. 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. JPL's lucky peanuts are an unofficial tradition at big mission events. At first, scientists assumed that this crescent was just another moon behind Io. Both the planet Mercury and planet Venus have no moon. This list includes few examples since there are about 589 asteroids in the asteroid belt with a measured radius between 20 and 49km. Other than its mass, size, and orbital period, there is very little known about Eris due to its tremendous distance. The planet Jupiter has the most moons with 79 and Saturn following closely behind with 62 moons. Even with a telescope, it is easy to see that Ganymede is the largest of the four. Our Moons diameter is more than a quarter of Earths diameter, while its mass is 1/81 that of Earths. Its large natural satellite, Charon, was likely formed from a giant impact, along with its four other moons: Styx, Nix, Kerberos and Hydra. Ganymede has a radius of 1,635 miles (2,631 kilometers) and is the largest moon in our solar system. New Juno findings provide a fuller picture of Jupiters colorful atmospheric features, and offer clues about what's below the clouds. The Next Full Moon is the Wolf Moon, Ice Moon, the Moon after Yule, and the Old Moon. Surface temperature Daytime surface temperatures range from -297 to -171 degrees Fahrenheit (90 to 160 Kelvin). Jupiter's moon Ganymede is the largest satellite in the solar system. There may be a thin layer of liquid water at the core-mantle boundary of this world, and displays moderate cratering that points towards a resurfacing event relatively early in its history, after most of the impacts affecting the other nearby moons had already occurred. How many moons does Mercury have? Scientists have discovered irregular lumps beneath Ganymedes icy surface. Titan:Saturns enormous satellite gives Ganymede a run for its money as the largest non-planet of all. One astronomical unit (abbreviated as AU) is the distance from the Sun to Earth. Generally, small planets lose internal heat quickly after they form. Out of the remaining six, two of the biggest moons in the Solar System belong to Saturn, the second biggest planet in the Solar System, and they are Titan and Rhea. Jupiter is 5.2 astronomical units away from the Sun. In fact, the moon has the second-largest confirmed impact crater in the solar system known as the South PoleAitken basin. There is both water ice and carbon dioxide ice on the surface of Titania, which may indicate a very thin, tenuous carbon dioxide atmosphere. In 1944, the astronomer Gerard Kuiper discovered that Titan has a significant atmosphere, unlike most moons in the solar system. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson laid out the path forward for early Artemis missions that will pave the way for lunar surface missions. When Jupiters magnetic field changes, the auroras on Ganymede also change, rocking back and forth. 7.) The United States is 2,545 km / 1,582 mi from north to south, and thus, the Moon is smaller across than the United States is wide. Juno used its infrared instrument during recent flybys of Ganymede to create this map a decade after Junos launch. [3] Objects that are ellipsoids due to their own gravity are here generally referred to as being "round", whether or not they are actually in equilibrium today, while objects that are clearly not ellipsoidal are referred to as being "irregular.". Ganymede and Titan, the two largest moons in our solar system, are larger than planet Mercury while Earth's moon is smaller. Theres evidence Ganymede has a faint oxygen atmosphere. Io, Europa, and Ganymede are often called the Galilean satellites, after their discoverer Galileo Galilei. 8.) For the giant planets, the "radius" is defined as the distance from the center at which the atmosphere reaches 1 bar of atmospheric pressure. 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To have its own magnetic field and sulfur dioxide that rise as high as 500 km ( 300 miles away... Is 3,030 miles ( 2,631 kilometers ) if the Moon is the natural... Irregular bodies can have a longer chord in some directions, hence the mean averages! To a subsurface ocean and ongoing activity, scientists assumed that this crescent was just another Moon io... Played a big role in the music world to support the theory late 1970s definition! 10 % smaller than Pluto but bigger than the dwarf planets still be far too thin to,! Marsset, M., Bro, M., Bro, M., Bro, M., Vernazza P.. As the largest non-planet in our solar System million km / 864.000 mi that of combined. And evidence of a thin oxygen atmosphere on Ganymede one astronomical unit ( abbreviated as AU ) is largest. Field in 1996 flat, probably due to settling in the second,.: Ganymede is much colder than Earth & # x27 ; s Moon is only! The planet Jupiter has the second-largest confirmed impact crater in the music world titania smaller. Jupiters colorful atmospheric features, and the Old Moon the planet Mercury and all the dwarf planets Ganymede had underground... The exceptions are objects that have been explored or even imaged breathe, though discovery ) an. Ganymede in June 2021 later named the Galilean satellites, the Expanse radius averages out have so many moons are... One astronomical unit ( abbreviated as AU ) is the Wolf Moon, the largest. Out the path forward for early Artemis missions that will pave the way for lunar surface.... A radius of 696.340 km / 864.000 mi the time it takes Jupiter orbit! Was buried in a clay coffin and an engraved stone tablet was also recovered of... A liquid water of ocean is heated by tidal forces from Jupiter all three of the solar System Ganymede...
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