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Ganymede (astronomy)
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Ganymede (astronomy)
In astronomy, largest moon of the planet Jupiter, orbiting every 7.2 days at a distance of 1.1 million km/700,000 mi. It is the largest moon in the Solar System, 5,260 km/3,270 mi in diameter (larger than the planet Mercury). Its surface is a mixture of extensively cratered and grooved terrain. Molecular oxygen was identified on Ganymede's surface in 1994. It is thought that Ganymede has a water ice crust and possibly a buried water ocean
The space probe Galileo detected a magnetic field around Ganymede in 1996; this suggests it may have a molten core. Galileo photographed Ganymede at a distance of 7,448 km/4,628 mi. The resulting images were 17 times clearer than those taken by Voyager 2 in 1979.
© Research Machines plc 2008. All rights reserved. Helicon Publishing is a division of Research Machines plc.
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