JUPITER'S MOONS
- On Jan. 7, 1610, Galileo Galilei's improvements to the telescope enabled humanity to see Jupiter's four largest moons for the first time.
- Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto--the so-called Galilean satellites--were seen by the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager on the New Horizons spacecraft during its flyby of Jupiter in late February 2007.
- Io is notable for its active volcanism, which New Horizons studied extensively.
- On the other hand, Europa's smooth, icy surface likely conceals an ocean of liquid water.
- Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system, has a dirty ice surface cut by fractures and peppered by impact craters.
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