Facts for Kids
Callisto, or Jupiter IV, is the second-largest moon of Jupiter, known for its icy surface and many craters.
Overview
Notable Missions
Potential For Life
Exploration History
Geological Features
Future Exploration Plans
Physical Characteristics
Comparison With Other Moons
Atmosphere And Magnetosphere
Cultural Impact And References
Inside this Article
European Space Agency
Greek Mythology
Galileo Galilei
Carbon Dioxide
Magnetic Field
Information
Atmosphere
Ganymede
European
Are
Did you know?
🌌 Callisto is the second-largest moon of Jupiter, after Ganymede!
🌑 Callisto has one of the oldest surfaces in the Solar System, filled with craters!
🧊 Scientists think that Callisto might have underground oceans of salty water!
🚀 Callisto was discovered in 1610 by the famous scientist Galileo Galilei.
❄️ The temperatures on Callisto can drop to around -139 degrees Celsius at night.
🪨 Callisto's surface features many large craters, including the giant Valhalla crater.
🌬️ Callisto has a very thin atmosphere, mainly made of carbon dioxide.
🛰️ Several spacecraft, including NASA's Voyager and Galileo missions, have explored Callisto.
🌕 While Ganymede is the biggest moon of Jupiter, Callisto has the most craters!
🌠 Callisto is named after a figure from Greek mythology, a follower of the goddess Artemis.
Introduction
Callisto is about 4,820 kilometers (or 2,995 miles) across, which is almost as wide as the planet Mercury! It was discovered in 1610 by the famous scientist Galileo Galilei, along with three other big moons of Jupiter. Callisto is known for its icy surface with many craters, making it a fascinating place to study! It circles Jupiter about every 17 days and is part of the "Galilean moons" along with Io, Europa, and Ganymede. 🚀
Notable Missions
Voyager 1 and 2 visited Callisto in 1979, taking important photos. Galileo then orbited Jupiter from 1995 to 2003, capturing incredible details about the moon's surface and atmosphere! In 2024, the European Space Agency’s mission called JUICE (JUpiter ICy moons Explorer) will also explore Callisto along with Ganymede and Europa! 🌟
This mission hopes to gather lots of information about these icy moons and their potential for life!
Potential For Life
Some believe that beneath its icy surface, there may be an ocean of salty water! Water is essential for life as we know it. However, the extreme cold temperatures and thin atmosphere make it less likely for us to find life like on Earth. 🤔
Scientists are excited to study this moon more because if life does exist, it could be very different from life on our planet!
Exploration History
️ In 1979, NASA's Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 flew by Jupiter and took some amazing pictures of Callisto. These missions helped us learn more about this moon. Then, the Galileo spacecraft studied Callisto in greater detail in the 1990s. Galileo went into orbit around Jupiter and sent back lots of data! 📊
Today, scientists are still studying images and information sent back by these missions to understand Callisto better.
Geological Features
It has many large craters, like Valhalla, which is over 4,000 kilometers (2,485 miles) wide and has rings around it. When asteroids or comets crash into Callisto, they leave behind big dents or craters. There are also grooves and valleys that scientists believe may have formed from the icy layers below shifting. Even though Callisto is rocky and icy, it doesn’t have any volcanoes like some other moons! 🌌
Instead, it’s mostly quiet and stable, making it a unique place in our Solar System.
Future Exploration Plans
The European Space Agency's JUICE mission, launching in 2024, aims to study Callisto and its fellow moons. 🛰
️ Scientists want to learn more about its surface and see if an ocean lies beneath. Other missions may follow, including searches for other moons or robots that could land on Callisto! In the future, we might even send humans to explore it! 🌍
Who knows what we might find? Exploring Callisto could answer many questions about our Solar System!
Physical Characteristics
It has one of the oldest and most heavily cratered surfaces in the Solar System. Some craters are more than 4 billion years old! This icy moon also has a thin atmosphere made mostly of carbon dioxide. Callisto is covered with frozen water and ice, and scientists think that some areas might have underground oceans of salty water! 🧊
The temperatures on Callisto can be extremely cold, reaching around -139 degrees Celsius (-218 degrees Fahrenheit) at night. It’s like a giant ice ball floating in space!
Comparison With Other Moons
While Ganymede is the biggest, Callisto has the most craters of any moon! Its surface is much older than Io, which has many volcanoes. Europa is different too—it is believed to have an ocean beneath its ice. Callisto is more stable and less geologically active than its siblings, making it unique. ☄
️ The other moons have very different features, so learning about each one helps scientists understand more about our Solar System!
Atmosphere And Magnetosphere
️ This atmosphere is too thin for humans to breathe! It doesn't have much pressure, which means it can't keep heat very well. Callisto is also outside of Jupiter's strong magnetic field, so it’s less affected by radiation than other moons, like Io! However, its thin atmosphere means that it can’t hold heat, so it remains extremely cold all the time. ❄
️ Unlike Earth, where our atmosphere protects us from space rocks, Callisto's atmosphere will not help much if something were to fall onto it!
Cultural Impact And References
According to the myth, she was a beautiful nymph and a follower of the goddess Artemis. There are many stories about Callisto, which show how ancient people tried to explain the world around them! 🌌
This moon has also been featured in popular films and cartoons, sparking imagination and curiosity in young explorers everywhere. Callisto inspires scientists, writers, and artists alike, making it a well-loved name in both science and storytelling! 💫
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