Tag Archives: galilean

In a process called tidal heating, gravitational push and pull from Jupiter’s Galilean moons — Europa, Ganymede, Io and Callisto — and the gas giant itself stretch and squish the moons enough to warm them. As a result, some of the icy moons contain interiors warm enough to host oceans …

During asteroid search operations, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft snapped several images of Jupiter and its Galilean moons: Io, Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede. This composite image showing Jupiter (center) and three of its moons — Callisto (left), Io, and Ganymede — was taken by OSIRIS-REx’s PolyCam instrument. Image credit: NASA / Goddard …