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Credit & Copyright: The Galileo Project,
NASA
Explanation:
The potato-shaped
inner moons of Jupiter are lined-up
in this mosaic
"family portrait" of these
tiny Jovian satellites.
The individual images were recorded over the last year by NASA's Galileo
spacecraft and are scaled to the moons' relative sizes.
Left to right in increasing order of
distance from Jupiter are
Metis (longest dimension 37 miles), Adrastea (12 miles),
Amalthea
(154 miles), and Thebe (72 miles).
All these moons orbit in the zone between
Io and
Jupiter's rings,
are bombarded by high-energy ions within the Jovian magnetosphere,
and are probably locked
in synchronous rotation by Jupiter's
strong gravity.
Why are they shaped like potatoes?
Like the asteroids and the
diminutive moons of Mars,
their own gravity is not strong enough to mold them into spheres.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Jupiter
Publications with words: Jupiter
See also: