Io
From Gwn
| Io | |
| |
| Discovered: | 1610 CE (364 BCE?) |
| Named After: | Named after the Greek Prince |
| Relative Size: | .413 Earths |
| Satellites: | Satellite of Jupiter |
Ganymede is Jupiter's largest moon, and the largest moon in the Olympus Major solar system; it is larger in diameter than Mercury but only about half its mass. Ganymede is one of four planetary satellites of Jupiter which can be seen with the naked eye from the Earth.
It may have been discovered by Chinese astronomer Gan De in 364 BC. The discovery of the moon is generally credited to Galileo Galilei who documented its existence in 1610. The name Ganymede was suggested soon after by Simon Marius, for the cup-bearer of the Greek gods, beloved of Zeus. This name and the names of the other Galilean satellites fell into disfavor for a considerable time, and were not revived in common use until the mid-20th century. In much of the earlier astronomical literature, it is simply referred to by its Roman numeral designation as Jupiter III or as the "third satellite of Jupiter". Ganymede is the only Galilean moon of Jupiter named after a male figure.
Ganymede is composed of silicate rock and water ice, with an ice crust floating over a warmer ice mantle that may contain a layer of liquid water. Ganymede is differentiated into a three layer structure: a small partially molten iron or iron/sulfur core surrounded by a rocky silicate mantle with an icy shell on top. This metallic core suggests a greater degree of heating at some time in Ganymede's past than had previously been proposed. Ganymede is similar in its internal structure to Io.
History
ICS
Notable Places
Main ICS Colony Cluster
Meaning of the Name
In Greek mythology, Ganymede (Greek: Γανυμήδης, Ganumēdēs) was a divine hero whose homeland was the Troad. He was a Trojan prince, son of eponymous king Tros of Dardania himself, and of Callirrhoe. Ganymede was the most beautiful of mortals, and was carried off by Zeus in the form of an eagle to Olympus as Zeus' beloved and to serve as cupbearer to the gods.
