Published 15:09 IST, August 10th 2020
Jupiter's moon Ganymede may have the largest impact scars in the Solar System
New studies on planet Jupiter's moon Ganymede have found that Ganymede may have the largest impact scars in the solar system. Read for details.
- Science News
- 3 min read
Scientists have found out that Jupiter’s huge moon Ganymede may have the largest impact craters in the solar system. The scientists revisited the observations that were made by NASA missions in the past. Those missions studied the massive moon which is larger than planet Mercury, which is the smallest planet in our solar system.
Ganymede may have the largest impact scar
Space.com reported that researchers have been studying the observations that were made in the past by NASA missions. Reportedly, the scientists found a set of features dubbed furrows that appear on some of the oldest terrains of Ganymede. Earlier, researchers had pointed to the particular furrows as evidence of a large impact which would have been powerful enough to have left scars on Ganymede.
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Reportedly, earlier studies showed that the impact was found on an entire side of Ganymede. However, now, new studies have shown that the previous studies underestimated the impact on the moon. Upon revisiting the structures, the new studies reveal that the furrows represent an impact so large as to affect the entire moon.
Image source: Shutterstock
Researchers began to gather data that was collected by NASA’s twin Voyager missions. Reportedly, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were launched in the year 1977, to explore the outer planets in our solar system. The new studies are also gathering data from NASA’s Galileo mission, which spent 8 years over studying the massive planet and its moons.
The scientists have been reanalysing observations and data about what was referred to as the Dark Terrain. Reportedly, Ganymede possesses dark heavy crated terrains that are older and have been formed over the centuries. It also includes the oldest surfaces on Ganymede.
According to the new studies, the furrows all ripple out from one point, even the ones that are on the opposite side of the moon.
Researches in their new study have revealed that the furrows indicate that the impact event had affected all of Ganymede. New studies also found that quite a large asteroid, at least 50 KM across and possibly 150 KM across could have collided with the moon. This must have left a bullseye series of rings and fractures across the moon.
After centuries of geological process, the rings and fractures have become the furrows and troughs scientists see now. Space.com also reported that if the modeling is correct then the researchers say that they have found the largest impact scar in the solar system. The radius of this scar is 7,800 KM; it is a radius twice the length of the Mississippi River. Currently, the largest known impact system is called Valhalla Crater, which is found on another moon of Jupiter called Callisto.
Image credits: Shutterstock
Updated 15:10 IST, August 10th 2020