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Callisto (moon)
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{| style="margin-left: 1em; float: right; border: 1px solid #CCC;"
|+ '''Callisto'''
|-
| bgcolor="#000000" colspan="2" align="center" |
image:Callisto.jpg 250px|CallistoClick image for description
|-
! bgcolor="#a0ffa0" colspan="2" | Discovery
|-
! align="left" | Discovered by
|
Galileo Galilei G. Galilei Simon Marius S. Marius
|-
! align="left" | Discovered on
|
January 7,
1610
|-
! bgcolor="#a0ffa0" colspan="2" |
Orbital characteristics
|-
! align="left" | Mean
radius
| 1.8827{{e|6}}
kilometer km (0.012585
astronomical unit AU)
|-
! align="left" |
Eccentricity (orbit) Eccentricity
| 0.0074
|-
! align="left" |
Periapsis
| 1,869,000
kilometer km (0.0125 AU)
|-
! align="left" |
Apoapsis
| 1,897,000
kilometer km (0.0127 AU)
|-
! align="left" | Revolution period
| 16.6890184 d (0.04569
year a)
|-
! align="left" | Orbital
circumference
| 11,829,000
kilometer km (0.079 AU)
|-
! align="left" | Orbital
velocity
| max: 8.265 km/s
mean: 8.204 km/s
min: 8.143 km/s
|-
! align="left" |
Inclination
| 2.02° (to the
ecliptic)
0.21° (to Jupiter's equator)
|-
! align="left" | Is a
natural satellite satellite of
|
Jupiter (planet) Jupiter
|-
! bgcolor="#a0ffa0" colspan="2" | Physical characteristics
|-
! align="left" | Mean
diameter
| 4820.6 km (0.378 Earths)
|-
! align="left" | Surface
area
|
1 E13 m² 7.3{{e|7}} square kilometre km2 (0.143 earths)
|-
! align="left" |
Volume
|
1 E19 m3 5.9{{e|10}} cubic kilometer km3 (0.0541 Earths)
|-
! align="left" |
Mass
| 1.0759{{e|23}}
kilogram kg (0.018 Earths)
|-
! align="left" | Mean
density
| 1.834 g/cm
3
|-
! align="left" | Surface
gravity
| 1.24
Acceleration m/s2 (0.126 g)
|-
! align="left" |
Escape velocity
| 2.4 km/s
|-
! align="left" | Rotation period
|
synchronous rotation synchronous
|-
! align="left" |
Axial tilt
| zero
|-
! align="left" |
Albedo
| 0.17
|-
! align="left" |
Apparent Magnitude
|5.7
|-
! align="left" | Surface
Temperature temp.
|
{| cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="0"
|-
! min !! mean !! max
|-
|
Kelvin K
| ~120 K
| K
|}
|-
! bgcolor="#a0ffa0" colspan="2" |
celestial body's atmosphere Atmospheric characteristics
|-
! align="left" |
Atmospheric pressure
| trace
|-
|
Carbon dioxide
| 100%
|}
'''Callisto''' ''(kə-lis'-toe,'' {{IPA2|kəˈlɪstoʊ}}; Greek ''Καλλιστώ)'' is a
natural satellite moon of the
planet Jupiter (planet) Jupiter, discovered in
1610 by
Galileo Galilei. It is the third-largest moon in the
solar system, about the same size as the planet
Mercury (planet) Mercury.
Name
Callisto is named after
Callisto (mythology) Callisto, one of
Zeus Zeus's many love interests in
Greek mythology.
Although the name "Callisto" was suggested by
Simon Marius soon after the moon's discovery, this name and the names of the other
Galilean moons Galilean satellites fell into disfavour for a considerable time, and were not revived in common use until the mid-
20th century. In much of the earlier astronomical literature, Callisto is simply referred to by its Roman numeral designation, '''Jupiter IV''' or as "the fourth satellite of Jupiter".
In scientific writing, the
adjective adjectival form of the name is usually ''Callistoan''.
Physical characteristics
Callisto is one of the most heavily cratered satellites in the solar system. In fact, impact craters and associated concentric rings are about the only features to be found; there are no large Callistoan mountains. This is probably due to the icy nature of its surface, with the largest craters and mountains being erased by the flow of the icy crust over geological time. Two enormous concentric ring impact basins are found on Callisto;
Valhalla (crater) Valhalla is the largest with a bright central region that is 600 kilometers in diameter and rings extending to 3000 kilometers in diameter, and the second-largest impact basin is
Asgard (crater) Asgard measuring about 1600 kilometers in diameter. Another interesting feature is
Gipul Catena, a long series of impact craters lined up in a straight line across Callisto's surface. This was probably caused by an object that was tidally disrupted as it passed close to Jupiter (much like
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9) before it impacted. Callisto's crust is thought to be approximately 4 billion years old, dating back almost to the formation of the
solar system.
Image:Callisto_terrain.jpg thumb|left|250px|Closeup of terrain within the impact basin [[Asgard (crater)|Asgard; craters and mysterious icy bumps are visible.]]
Image:PIA01478 Interior of Callisto.jpg thumb|200px|Interior of Callisto
Callisto's battered surface lies on top of an icy layer that is about 150 kilometers thick. Beneath the crust lies a salty
ocean in excess of 10 kilometers thick. The ocean was discovered from studies of the
magnetic fields around Jupiter and its moons. It was found that the Callistoan magnetic field varies (flows in various directions at different times) in response to the background magnetic field generated by Jupiter; this suggests a layer of highly conductive fluid within the moon.
Beneath the ocean, Callisto seems to have a strange interior that is not entirely uniform but does not vary dramatically. ''
Galileo spacecraft Galileo'' orbiter data suggest that the interior is composed of compressed rock and ice, with the amount of rock increasing with depth due to partial settling of its constituents. Callisto has the lowest density of the four Galilean moons of Jupiter, only 1.86 g/cm
3, and is about 40% ice and 60%
Rock (geology) rock/
iron.
Callisto has a very tenuous atmosphere composed of
carbon dioxide. Its source may be the slow sublimation of carbon dioxide ice from the satellite's icy crust.
Unlike neighbouring
Ganymede (moon) Ganymede with its tectonic grooved terrain, there is little evidence of
plate tectonics tectonic activity on Callisto. While Callisto is very similar in bulk properties to Ganymede, it apparently has a much simpler geological history. The different geologic histories of the two has been an important problem for planetary scientists. "Simple" Callisto is a good reference for comparison with other more complex worlds.
See also
*
List of craters on Callisto
*
List of geological features on Callisto
* The
asteroid 204 Kallisto
*
Colonization of the outer solar system Colonization of Calllisto
Callisto in fiction
*
Lin Carter's eight-novel Callisto series (1972-1978) is set on an inhabitable Callisto.
* In
Piers Anthony's sci-fi series "Bio of a Space Tyrant" (1983-), Callisto is the home planet of Hope Hubris, the Tyrant of Jupiter.
* ''
Jupiter Moon'' (1990) was a short-lived British attempt at making a space
soap opera. It was set on a space university that orbited Callisto.
*
Kim Stanley Robinson's novel ''
Blue Mars'' (1996) contains a description of a flourishing colony on Callisto.
* ''
Cowboy Bebop'' (1998) features a snowy Callisto, filled with fugitives and populated only by men.
* In the game ''
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner'' (2003), the protagonist, Dingo Egret, finds the Orbital Frame
Jehuty buried in ice under Callisto's surface.
* In the video game series
G-police, your character is a pilot for a police force on Callisto.
''... | Ganymede (moon) Ganymede | '''Callisto''' | Themisto (moon) Themisto | ...''
{{Jupiter_Footer}}
Category:Jupiter's moons
als:Kallisto (Mond)
bg:КалиÑ?то (Ñ?пътник)
bs:Kalisto (mjesec)
ca:Cal·listo (satèl·lit)
da:Callisto (måne)
de:Kallisto (Mond)
es:Calisto (luna)
eo:Kalistoo
fr:Callisto (lune)
ko:ì¹¼ë¦¬ìŠ¤í† (위성)
hr:Kalisto (mjesec)
it:Callisto (astronomia)
he:קליסטו (ירח)
la:Callisto (satelles)
nl:Callisto (maan)
ja:カリスト (衛星)
no:Callisto (måne)
nn:Jupitermånen Callisto
pl:Kallisto (księżyc)
pt:Calisto (satélite)
ru:КаллиÑ?то (Ñ?путник Юпитера)
sk:Kallisto (mesiac)
sl:Kalisto (luna)
fi:Kallisto
sv:Callisto
tr:Callisto (uydu)
zh:木�四
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