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3 December 2009
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You are here: BBC > Science & Nature > Space > Solar System > Jupiter
MAIN MOONS:   Io   Europa   Ganymede   Callisto
CALLISTO · Your travel guide to the Solar System ·

Callisto
Facts and Figures

DEFINITION

The furthest from Jupiter of its main moons

REASONS TO VISIT

  • Visit the most cratered body in the Solar System
  • Callisto is the darkest and densest of the four main 'Galilean moons' of Jupiter
 
Solar System Jigsaw
Solar System Jigsaw
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WHAT TO SEE


The Valhalla crater
Valhalla is Callisto's largest crater and. Around it you can see a series of concentric rings, marking the shock waves from an immense asteroid impact.

Galilean moons
Callisto is the last of the four main moons of Jupiter. They are called the 'Galilean moons' because Galileo first spotted them through his telescope in 1610. The other three are called Io, Europa and Ganymede.

SPOTTING CALLISTO FROM THE EARTH


You can see Callisto with a pair of binoculars and it looks like a faint star.

Most of our information about Callisto has been gathered by the Voyager and Galileo probes on their journeys past Jupiter.

TRAVEL INFORMATION


Before you leave
Be prepared for a wide range of temperatures on Callisto. During the day, ice evaporates from the surface. Overnight its deposited again when frost covers the ground. This eternal process has left a layer of dust over the entire moon.

When you arrive
Callisto has the oldest surface of any body in the Solar System. The ground has changed very little in the last four billion years.

Callisto is very similar to its lunar neighbour, Ganymede. However, Ganymede's surface is much younger. Why Callisto's surface has remained unchurned for so many years is a mystery. But when we find the answer it may tell us how these Jovian moons formed.

Discover how the Solar System formed

LOCAL HISTORY


Like most of Jupiter's moons, Callisto was named after a lover of the god Zeus. (The Roman equivalent of Zeus was Jupiter, the namesake of the giant planet).

In Greek mythology, the goddess Hera was jealous of Zeus's affection for Callisto and changed her to a bear. Callisto was then sentenced to spend eternity living in the sky.

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BBC On this day - Mission Timeline
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Go further

SEDS - The Nine Planets
In-depth site on the structure, mythology and composition of Callisto

NASA - Solar System Exploration
Good beginner's guide to Callisto

NASA - Jupiter Moons Factsheet
In-depth data on Jupiter's main moons

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