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Galileo's 'Starlets'
Jupiter's Galilean Satellites
On January 7, 1610, the Italian astronomer Galileo
Galilei discovered that "beside the planet (Jupiter),
there were three starlets, small indeed, but very
bright." Within 10 days, he discovered the fourth of
the satellites that are named in his honor.
These four large Jovian satellites are now named
lo, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. In recent years
studies from Earth, including those supported by
NASA, added much to knowledge about them. NASA's
Voyagers 1 and 2 in their flights through the Jovian
system in 1979 enabled astronomers for the first
time to view and study these satellites at close range.
What the scientists saw were bizarre objects that are
different not only from any other solar system body
but also from one another.
lo Is a Volcanic Isle in the Ocean of Space
Certainly, the star of the Voyager picture show was
lo, on whose multi-colored surface were discover-
ed more than a half dozen erupting volcanoes.
This is far more than have been known to erupt simul-
taneously on Earth.
lo's eruptions appear to last longer than those on
Earth. Of eight active volcanoes discovered in Voy-
ager 1 pictures taken in March 1979, six were still
erupting when Voyager 2 passed in July.
lo's volcanic eruptions also appear to be more
violent than Earth's. Voyager measurements of the
velocities of materials fired from lo's volcanoes indi-
cated speeds as high as 3600 kilometers (2240
miles) per hour. Mount Aetna, Earth's most violent
volcano, ejects material at about 180 kilometers (112
miles) per hour. lo, Jupiter's volcanic moon.
Without a doubt, lo dethrones Earth as the most
volcanically active body yet observed in our Solar the radioactivity that it acquired from the original
System.
solar nebula approximately 4Y2 billion years ago.
Even if lo had acquired water and other light ele-
What Powers lo's Volcanoes? ments (volatiles) at its birth, it appears to have lost
lo is a waterless rocky body about the size of our nearly all of them. So, why are there active volca-
Moon and, until the Voyager close-ups, was believed noes on lo?
to be cold and dead like our Moon. Earth's volcanoes Most scientists believe that lo's heat is generated
are believed to be generated by heat from decaying by "tidal pumping". Tidal pumping may be explained
radioactive materials in its interior. The major driving as follows:
force of Earth's explosive volcanoes is steam. If lo were Jupiter's only satellite, it would keep the
Because it has only about a sixth the mass of Earth, same face toward Jupiter just as the Moon does
like our Moon, lo should have exhausted nearly all of while orbiting Earth. Jupiter's gravity would pull lo's

EB81-8
crust upward about a hundred meters, which is
approximately as high as a 33-story building. This
crustal bulge, or tide, would be stationary.
However, as the Galilean satellites Europa and
Ganymede pass lo, their gravities create perturba-
tions in the shape of lo's orbit. These perturbations
cause the amplitude, or height, of lo's tidal bulge to
rise and fall, generating tremendous frictional heat in
lo's interior.
What replaces Earth's steam as the major driving
force of lo's volcanoes? Voyager detected sulphur
dioxide gas coming from lo.
Scientists theorize that gases from molten sulphur
deep beneath lo's crust, melted by the frictional heat,
provide the driving force for the satellite's volca-
noes. Gaseous sulphur erupting from lo's volcanoes
would cool quickly and condense on the surface.
This material could account for the satellite's vivid
orange, yellow, red and black surface colors.
lo Particles May Scatter throughout
Jovian System
lo's eruptions may send particles far and wide through-
out the Jovian magnetosphere. The magnetosphere
is the volume of space encompassed by a magnetic
field. It traps or deflects charged atomic particles.
Jupiter's magnetosphere was detected by NASA's
Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft as far out as about 15
million kilometers (9.3 million miles) on Jupiter's day
side and beyond Saturn's orbit, more than 600 mil-
lion kilometers (373 million miles) away, on Jupiter's
night side.
It is difficult to imagine the size of Jupiter's magnet-
osphere. From Earth, Jupiter looks to the naked eye
like a bright star. If its magnetosphere were illumi-
nated, it would be twice the apparent size of our
Moon.
Voyager detected particles of sulphur and oxygen,
believed to be from lo, in a doughnut-shaped cloud
of ions (electrically charged atoms) that wobbles
around Jupiter at the distance of lo's orbit.
The ions may follow magnetic field lines from the
orbiting cloud or "torus" not only to the outer limits
of the magnetosphere but also inward to Jupiter's
north and south poles, causing the brilliant auroras
pictured by Voyager, lo's eruptions may also be the
source of the faint ring discovered around Jupiter by
Voyager.
Although some measurements indicate that lo's
eruptions are kicking three metric tons of material
daily into the torus, lo is not rapidly blowing itself into
oblivion. It has been calculated that, at the current
rate, lo will lose less than a tenth of one percent of its
mass in the next billion years.
Global Ice Cap May Cover Europa
Europa has the smoothest surface seen on any solar
system body. No large scale physical relief— moun-
tains, valleys, or extensive meteorite craters— mars
its surface.
Longer linear structures resembling cracks in the
shell of a hardboiled egg crisscross this incredibly
smooth surface. They are probably shallow cracks in
EB81-8
what scientists believe is an icy crust.
Europa's density suggests that it may be 80 per-
cent silicate (rock) and 20 percent water. Infared
studies and the observed high albedo (brightness) of
Europa indicate that its surface is covered by ice.
Analyses of data relative to Europa and other
information suggest a possible scenario for Europa's
early history. This scenario would also help explain
the absence of extensive cratering on the surface
and the creation of the linear structures.
Tidal heating of Europa is about a tenth of that of
lo. It may have delayed the complete freezing of a
layer of water covering Europa. For a time, then,
Europa was covered by an ocean of water with a thin
ice crust over its surface. Most of the craters result-
ing from the primeval solar system period of heavy
bombardment probably were erased by the creeping
of the ice over this moon's surface.
Progressive freezing of the liquid water layer re-
sulted in expansion of the icy crust which cracked,
producing linear fracture patterns. The cracks were
quickly filled with water, welling up from below. This
rising water froze as it reached the surface.
When Europa's icy covering was deep and strong
enough to preserve meteorite craters, the heaviest
bombardment by meteorites had already occured. It
received only the final, low intensity, meteorite bom-
bardment. Most of the resulting craters have been
lost to ice creep. As a result, Europa's smooth surface
is now lightly marked with scattered small, relatively
shallow craters.
The Four Faces of Ganymede
Ganymede showed four different kinds of surface
areas to Voyager spacecraft cameras. Each type of
surface may represent a stage in the history of this
fascinating satellite.
One is an enormous multi-ringed structure believed
to be the remaining scar of the impact of a gigantic
meteorite some 4 to 4M> billion years ago. During this
period in our solar system's development, mountain-
sized meteorites rained upon the nascent planets
and their satellites: Why didn't such an impact leave a
vast deep basin with a high central peak and concen-
tric rings of tall mountains as on the Moon, Mars, and
Mercury?
Mars, Mercury, Earth, and the Moon, are largely
silicate bodies. Although oceans cover about three
quarters of Earth's surface, water makes up only
about two hundredths of one percent of its composi-
tion. Their structures and composition enable the
Earth, Moon, Mars, and Mercury to support high
vertical relief in the form of mountains, valleys, and
deep craters.
Ganymede's density suggests it is about half water.
Spectroscopic studies indicate that Ganymede's crust
may be mostly water in the form of ice mixed with
silicates. Such a crust is unable to support high
vertical relief because creep or flow of the ice erases
such structures.
The multi-ringed area represents the most ancient
face of Ganymede. Another face is characterized by
numerous shallow impact craters a few tens of-kilo-
meters across. This meteorite bombardment is
believed to have followed the one that produced the
vast ring structures. As a result, this surface may be
considered younger than the other surface.
Voyager photographs reveal yet another face of
Ganymede. This surface has only about a tenth the
meteorite crater density of the previous one and,
therefore, is considered the younger surface.
The interesting aspect of this surface is its complex
of closely spaced shallow grooves. Geologists say
the complex reminds them of parallel faulting on
Earth. This could mean that for a time there was
widespread fracturing of sections of Ganymede's
crust. Such an active crust would be caused by a
molten interior. The molten interior might have been
heated by radioactive materials, by tidal pumping as
on lo, or by a combination of the two.
Superimposed here and there upon the grooved
areas are smooth places with few or no impact
craters. Consequently, these are assumed to be newer
surfaces.
The four faces of Ganymede are believed to have
been formed within the first billion years of the
satellite's existence and to have since been frozen in
their present position.
The Ancient Face of Callisto
Callisto apparently has the oldest surface of any of
the Galilean satellites; probably as old as our Moon
and the planet Mercury. Craters are crowded shoul-
der-to-shoulder across its surface. Vast multi-ringed
structures like those seen on Ganymede are also
visible on Callisto. One encompasses nearly a quarter
of the satellite's surface.
Callisto is only a little smaller than Ganymede. Like
Ganymede, its surface appears to be covered mostly
by a mixture of rock and of water in the form of ice.
Like Ganymede, its density suggests a composition
that is half water and half rock. There may be more
water or other volatiles in Callisto's composition than
in Ganymede's because Callisto appears to be less
dense than Ganymede.
Like Ganymede, Callisto's surface has only low
The Galilean Satellites
Name Diameter
(Kilometers*)
lo 3632
Europa 3126
Ganymede 5276
Callisto 4820
* To convert kilometers to statute miles, multiply them by 0.6214.
**Time for one revolution around Jupiter
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relief. This may support the argument that Callisto
had a soft crust early in its history. Low relief may
also be the consequence of creep or flow in the icy
crust.
Apparently Callisto cooled and hardened in depth
much more rapidly than Ganymede, preserving the
scars of the primeval meteorite bombardments. Sci-
entists do not know why this occurred, because the
sizes and compositions of Ganymede and Callisto
are so similar. Observers also speculate about why
Callisto's surface bears no signs of ancient, exten-
sive fracture systems as on Ganymede. One sugges-
tion is that tidal pumping of Ganymede's crust con-
tributed the additional heat that made Ganymede
evolve differently from Callisto. Callisto is about
twice as far as Ganymede from Jupiter. Thus, tidal
effects would be less pronounced.
Unique Solar System Bodies
The Galilean satellites do not resemble each other,
or any other body in the solar system, lo is the most
volcanic object in the solar system and has the
youngest surface. Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto
possess substantial quantities of water. Their crusts
may be all or mostly ice. lo has no water. Europa has
the smoothest surface of any body in the solar
system, lo may have a tenuous atmosphere fed by its
volcanic eruptions. The others are engulfed in a dark,
frigid vacuum. Ganymede shows signs of tectonic
activity in the past. Callisto's surface is the oldest of
the Galilean satellites and probably among the most
ancient in the solar system. All of the satellites are
within Jupiter's intense lethal radiation region. As a
result, the possibility of life on or even manned
exploration of their surface is negligible. Exploring
these bodies will continue to be the task of sophisti-
cated unmanned spacecraft and perhaps robot sur-
face machines.
Ganymede is larger than the planets Mercury and
Pluto. It is the largest satellite in the solar system.
Callisto is nearly as large as Mercury, lo and Europa
are about the size of our Moon.
Distance from Jupiter Period**
(Kilometers) (Day: hr: min: sec:)
422,000 1: 18: 27: 33/2
671,400 3: 13: 13: 42
1,071,000 7: 3: 42: 33
1,884,000 16: 16: 32: 11.2
Questions and Activities for the Classroom
1. Obtain from your library and read "The Starry
Messenger", a translation of Galileo's account of
his astronomical studies.
2. Find in your library a description of the mytholog-
ical characters Jupiter, lo, Europa, Ganymede,
and Callisto. How did the practice of naming solar
system bodies for mythological characters begin?
3. Why is lo considered the most geologically active
body in the Solar System?
4. Plan and conduct experiments with sulphur, show-
ing any change of color with alterations in tem-
perature, in molten, gaseous states, etc.
5. What is tidal pumping? Explain how this may
power lo's volcanic erruptions. Study and explain
the possible effects of tidal pumping on Ganymede
and Europa.
6. What evidence suggests that material from lo is
scattered throughout the Jovian system?
7. What is the "torus" encircling lo?
8. What are the current theories about the crustal
evolutions of Europa, Ganymede and Callisto?
9. What is meant by the term "tectonics" as applied
to bodies in our Solar System? On which of the
Galilean satellites do changes involving tectonic
phenomena appear to have occurred?
10. Map the locations of satellites of Jupiter you are
able to see through a telescope—viewing them
over a 10-day period.
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