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Explanation: Cruising past the moons of reigning gas giant Jupiter, Voyager and Galileo have returned tantalizing evidence for a liquid water ocean beneath the surface of Europa. Now researchers are reporting telltale indications that the battered Jovian moon Callisto may also harbor a subsurface ocean. This cutaway view of Callisto shows a whitish 200 kilometer thick band of ice just beneath the moon's surface. The hypothetical ocean - indicated by the underlying light blue stripe - is potentially a salty layer of liquid water up to 10 kilometers thick, while the rest of the interior is seen as a jumble of rock and ice. Why a salty subsurface ocean? Magnetic measurements made during Galileo flybys so far indicate Callisto's magnetic field is variable, analogous to results during Europa passes, and a plausible explanation is that Callisto too has a subsurface liquid layer. If the liquid were salt water it could easily carry electrical currents and produce the changing magnetic field.
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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 - ice - Callisto - ocean
Publications with words: Jupiter - ice - Callisto - ocean
See also:
- APOD: 2025 September 1 Á Callisto: Dirty Battered Iceball
- APOD: 2025 May 25 Á Beneath Jupiter
- Painting with Jupiter
- APOD: 2025 April 2 Á Jupiter and Ring in Infrared from Webb
- APOD: 2025 March 9 Á Cyclones at Jupiters North Pole
- APOD: 2025 February 16 Á Perijove 11: Passing Jupiter
- Stereo Jupiter near Opposition