(ORDO NEWS) — If not for the fact that this celestial body is a satellite of the planet Jupiter, then because of its huge size it could well pass for a planet.
The diameter of Ganymede is more than 5200 km, which is even larger than Mercury and only slightly smaller than Mars.
In March 2016, the Hubble Space Telescope also made a surprising discovery that points to the existence of a large ocean of salt water on the moon.
And, as far as we know, the presence of liquid water is vital, as it may indicate the existence of alien life.
“This discovery marks an important milestone, highlighting what only Hubble can achieve,” said John Grunsfeld, former associate administrator of NASA‘s Office of Science Missions.
Planetologists believe that Ganymede may be one of the places where extraterrestrial life can be discovered in our solar system, in addition to Earth.
“During its 25 years in orbit, Hubble has made many scientific discoveries in the solar system. Deep in the ocean beneath Ganymede’s icy crust lie more interesting possibilities for life beyond Earth.”
“We believe that the ocean of Ganymede contains more water than Europa,” explains Olivier Vitasse, the scientist who oversees ESA‘s Jupiter Ice Moon Explorer mission.
“The oceans of Ganymede have six times the water of Earth and three times the water of Jupiter’s moon Europa.”
While another Juice mission is closely studying Ganymede and Europa, another NASA mission, dubbed Clipper, will focus on exploring Ganymede.
Thus, in a few years we will have a complete panorama of the oceanic satellites surrounding the largest planets in the solar system.
Ganymede is the largest planetary moon in the entire solar system and the only one with its own magnetic field.
Thanks to the magnetic field at the poles of Ganymede, you can observe the northern lights. The satellite is within the magnetic field of Jupiter, so the northern lights change periodically.
The discovery of a huge body of water under the moon’s icy landscape has increased the chances of finding extraterrestrial life without having to leave the solar system, scientists say.
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