Callisto Full Face
Explanation:
Callisto's surface shows its age.
While probably formed at the same time as
Io, the difference between the
surfaces of these two moons of
Jupiter could hardly be greater.
Io's surface is young,
shows practically no impact craters,
and is continually being repaved by the
lava exploding from its many
large volcanoes.
Callisto's surface is old, shows the highest density of
impact craters in the
Solar System, and harbors no
volcanoes or even any large mountains.
Callisto's surface
is one large ice-field, laced with
cracks and
craters
from billions of years of collisions with
interplanetary debris.
The
above image was taken in 2001 May and is, so far,
the only complete global color image taken by the Jupiter-orbiting
Galileo spacecraft.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
