Members
Simulations suggest there may have been several generations of Galilean satellites in Jupiter's early history. Each generation of moons to have formed would have spiraled into Jupiter and been destroyed, due to drag from Jupiter's proto-lunar disk, with new moons forming from the remaining debris. By the time the present generation formed, the debris had thinned out to the point that it no longer greatly interfered with the moons' orbits. Io is anhydrous and likely has an interior of rock and metal. Europa is thought to contain 8% ice and water by mass with the remainder rock. These moons are, in increasing order of distance from Jupiter:
| Name |
Image | Model of Interior I E G C |
Diameter (km) |
Mass (kg) |
Density (g/cm³) |
Inclination (°) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Io Jupiter I |
3660.0 ×3637.4 ×3630.6 |
0893 !8.93×1022 | 3.528 | 421,800 | 1.769 (1) |
0.050 | 0.0041 | ||
| Europa Jupiter II |
3121.6 | 0480 !4.8×1022 | 3.014 | 671,100 | 3.551 (2) |
0.471 | 0.0094 | ||
| Ganymede Jupiter III |
5262.4 | 1480 !1.48×1023 | 1.942 | 1,070,400 | 7.155 (4) |
0.204 | 0.0011 | ||
| Callisto Jupiter IV |
4820.6 | 1080 !1.08×1023 | 1.834 | 1,882,700 | 16.69 (9.4) |
0.205 | 0.0074 |
Read more about this topic: Galilean Moons
Famous quotes containing the word members:
“Safe in their Alabaster Chambers—
Untouched by Morning
And untouched by Noon—
Sleep the meek members of the Resurrection—”
—Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)
“I understand that only the rich can be members of Dr. C---’s church. The Lord Christ, also, is therefore ineligible. I will remain outside with Him.”
—Amelia E. Barr (1831–1919)
“Man is more disposed to domination than freedom; and a structure of dominion not only gladdens the eye of the master who rears and protects it, but even its servants are uplifted by the thought that they are members of a whole, which rises high above the life and strength of single generations.”
—Karl Wilhelm Von Humboldt (1767–1835)