Space / 1979-02-27
ARC-1979-A79-7019
NASA's image library records ARC-1979-A79-7019.
Range : 6 million kilometers (3.7 million miles) Central Longitude 120 degrees west, North is up. and 3rd from the planet. Photo taken after midnight Ganymede is slightly larger than Mercury but much less dense (twice the density of water). Its surface brightness is 4 times of Earth's Moon. Mare regions (dark features) are like the Moon's but have
A CLOSER LOOK
Range : 6 million kilometers (3.7 million miles) Central Longitude 120 degrees west, North is up. and 3rd from the planet. Photo taken after midnight Ganymede is slightly larger than Mercury but much less dense (twice the density of water). Its surface brightness is 4 times of Earth's Moon. Mare regions (dark features) are like the Moon's but have twice the brightness, and believed to be unlikely of rock or lava as the Moon's are. It's north pole seems covered with brighter material and may be water frost. Scattered brighter spots may be related to impact craters or source of fresh ice.
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FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
NASA Image and Video LibraryARC-1979-A79-7019Original explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.