17 Jupiter's Moons

Castillo's core is believed to be made of what material?

Rock

We believe that the surface of Castillo may be just as old as the moon itself because...

there is no evidence of tectonic or volcanic activity

The Galilean moons are large enough that they could actually be seen with the naked eye

true

how many official moons does Jupiter have?

67

the surface of Io appears to be red, yellow, orange, and other odd colors. Why is this?

The materials ejected onto the surface of the planet by its many volcanoes are rich in sulfur, coating the surface in these vibrant colors

What is true of all the moons - other than the Galilean moons - around Jupiter?

They are tidally locked to Jupiter so they rotate once for every revolution

How did we first discover how volcanic Io is?

When the moon was first seen in color by voyager 1, its vibrant color scheme immediately alerted astronomers to the amounts of sulfur and methane that only a very volcanic object could produce

Because Io is magnetically linked to Jupiter, ions from its atmosphere are moved from the moon to jupiter along magnetic field lines, affecting the space between them in what way?

the second and third are correct

Almalthea, Jupiter's fifth smallest moon, orbits so close to the planet that from its surface Jupiter would seem to fill up the entire sky

false

because the lower layers of Ganymede are mostly composed of water, the planet has a very weak magnetic field

false

how are the surface features on Europa thought to have been formed?

liquid water welling up to the moon's surface to move and reform the crust

in 1610, Galileo observed jupiter and saw first three, then four, objects moving around it. these are now called the Galilean moons and are significant because they showed ...

objects in the sky can revolve around things other than Earth

Some of Jupiter's smallest moons are thought to have broken apart from what was originally a single larger moon because...

they follow similar orbits

Europa is thought to be able to sustain life because...

three of the answers are correct

why is the water below Europa's surface able to remain liquid?

tidal flexing caused by the moons of Io and Ganymede passing near Europa

Ganymede is criss crossed with large grooves that are thought to have been perhaps made by...

tidal forces from jupiter and other moons

Castillo is much farther from Jupiter than the other Galilean moons, and as a result it is not as affected by the same tidal forces that the other three moons experience

true

which is the largest of Jupiter's moons?

Ganymede