A key focus of ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) will be Ganymede: Jupiter’s largest moon, and an ideal natural laboratory for studying the icy worlds of the Solar System.
Ganymede
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Press Release
A Newly Discovered Form Of Salty Ice Could Exist On The Surface Of Icy Moons
The red streaks crisscrossing the surface of Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, are striking. Scientists suspect it is a frozen mixture of water and salts, but its chemical signature is […]
Posted inCallisto, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report
The Optical Aurorae of Europa, Ganymede and Callisto
The tenuous atmospheres of the Galilean satellites are sourced from their surfaces and produced by a combination of plasma-surface interactions and thermal processes. Though thin, these atmospheres can be studied […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Callisto, Enceladus, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mimas, Pluto, Press Release, Triton
Spectroscopic Detection of Biosignatures in Natural Ice Samples as a Proxy for Icy Moons
Some of the icy moons of the solar system with a subsurface ocean, such as Europa and Enceladus, are the targets of future space missions that search for potential extraterrestrial […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Status Report
Early Stages Of Galilean Moon Formation In A Water-depleted Environment
A key feature of the Galilean satellite system is its monotonic decrease in bulk density with distance from Jupiter, indicating an ice mass fraction
Posted inEnceladus, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Sending Signals To Droids Through The Ice On Ocean Worlds
Detection of extraterrestrial life would be an incredible discovery, revolutionizing humanity’s perception of life and providing us insight into how life begins and persists in various environments.
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Ganymede, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Probing Ganymede’s Atmosphere With HST Lyα Images In Transit Of Jupiter
We report results from far-ultraviolet observations by the Hubble Space Telescope of Jupiter’s largest moon Ganymede transiting across the planet’s dayside hemisphere.
Posted inGanymede, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release
Global Modelling of Ganymede’s Surface Composition: Near-IR Mapping from VLT/SPHERE
We present maps of Ganymede’s surface composition with almost complete longitude coverage, acquired using high spatial resolution near-infrared (0.95 to 1.65μm) observations from the ground-based VLT/SPHERE instrument. Observed reflectance spectra […]
Posted inGanymede
On The Origin Of Molecular Oxygen On The Surface Of Ganymede
Since its first identification on the surface of Ganymede in 1995, molecular oxygen (O2) ice has been at the center of a scientific debate as the surface temperature of the […]
Posted inGanymede, Jupiter
Hubble Finds First Evidence of Water Vapor at Jupiter's Moon Ganymede
For the first time, astronomers have uncovered evidence of water vapor in the atmosphere of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede. This water vapor forms when ice from the moon’s surface sublimates — […]