Callisto (moon)

Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Featured article Template:Use dmy dates {{#invoke:infobox|infoboxTemplate | class = vcard | titleclass = fn org | title = Callisto | image = {{#invoke:InfoboxImage|InfoboxImage|image=Callisto - July 8 1979 (38926064465).jpg|upright={{#if:||1.1}}|alt=}} | caption = Callisto imaged in approximately true color by the Voyager 2 spacecraft, July 1979 | headerstyle = {{#if:Silver|background-color:Silver|background-color:#E0CCFF}} | labelstyle = max-width:{{#if:||11em}}; | autoheaders = y

| header1 = Discovery

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| header20 = Orbital characteristics{{#ifeq:|yes| (barycentric)}}

| data21 = | data22 = {{#if: |Epoch {{{epoch}}}}} | data23 = {{#if: | Uncertainty parameter {{{uncertainty}}}}} | label24 = Observation arc | data24 = | label25 = Earliest precovery date | data25 = | label26 = {{#switch:{{{apsis}}} |apsis|gee|barion|center|centre|(apsis)=Apo{{{apsis}}} |Ap{{#if:|{{{apsis}}}|helion}}}} | data26 = | label27 = Peri{{#if:|{{{apsis}}}|helion}} | data27 = | label28 = Peri{{#if:|{{{apsis}}}|apsis}} | data28 = Template:Val<ref group=lower-alpha>Periapsis is derived from the semimajor axis (a) and eccentricity (e): <math>a(1-e)</math>.</ref> | label29 = {{#switch:{{{apsis}}} |helion|astron=Ap{{{apsis}}} |Apo{{#if:|{{{apsis}}}|apsis}}}} | data29 = Template:Val<ref group=lower-alpha>Apoapsis is derived from the semimajor axis (a) and eccentricity (e): <math>a(1+e)</math>.</ref> | label30 = Periastron | data30 = | label31 = Apoastron | data31 = | label32 = Template:Longitem | data32 = 1,882,700 km<ref name=orbit/> | label33 = Template:Longitem | data33 = | label34 = Eccentricity | data34 = Template:Val<ref name=orbit/> | label35 = Template:Longitem | data35 = Template:Val<ref name=orbit/> | label36 = Template:Longitem | data36 = | label37 = Template:Longitem | data37 = Template:Val | label38 = Template:Longitem | data38 = | label39 = Template:Longitem | data39 = | label40 = Inclination | data40 = 2.017° (to the ecliptic)
0.192° (to local Laplace planes)<ref name=orbit/> | label41 = Template:Longitem | data41 = | label42 = Template:Longitem | data42 = | label43 = Template:Longitem | data43 = | label44 = Template:Longitem | data44 = | label45 = Template:Longitem | data45 = | label46 = Template:Nowrap | data46 = | label47 = Satellite of | data47 = Jupiter | label48 = Group | data48 = Galilean moon | label49 = {{#switch: |yes|true=Satellites |Known satellites}} | data49 = | label50 = Star | data50 = | label51 = Earth MOID | data51 = | label52 = Mercury MOID | data52 = | label53 = Venus MOID | data53 = | label54 = Mars MOID | data54 = | label55 = Jupiter MOID | data55 = | label56 = Saturn MOID | data56 = | label57 = Uranus MOID | data57 = | label58 = Neptune MOID | data58 = | label59 = T_Jupiter | data59 =

| header60 = Proper orbital elements

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({{#expr:365.25*360/1 round 3}} d) }} | label66 = Template:Longitem | data66 = {{#if:|{{{perihelion_rate}}} arcsec Template:\yr }} | label67 = Template:Longitem | data67 = {{#if:|{{{node_rate}}} arcsec Template:\yr}}

| header70 = Template:Anchor{{#if:| Physical characteristics|Physical characteristics}}

| label71 = Dimensions | data71 = | label72 = Template:Longitem | data72 = | label73 = Template:Longitem | data73 = Template:Val (0.378 Earths)<ref name="Anderson 2001"/> | label74 = Template:Longitem | data74 = | label75 = Template:Longitem | data75 = | label76 = Flattening | data76 = | label77 = Circumference | data77 = | label78 = Template:Longitem | data78 = Template:Val (0.143 Earths)<ref group=lower-alpha>Surface area derived from the radius (r): <math>4\pi r^2</math>.</ref> | label79 = Volume | data79 = Template:Val (0.0541 Earths)<ref group=lower-alpha>Volume derived from the radius (r): <math>\frac{4}{3}\pi r^3</math>.</ref> | label80 = Mass | data80 = Template:Val (0.018 Earths)<ref name="Anderson 2001"/> | label81 = Template:Longitem | data81 = Template:Val (0.333 Earths)<ref name="Anderson 2001"/> | label82 = Template:Longitem | data82 = Template:Val (0.126 g)<ref group=lower-alpha>Surface gravity derived from the mass (m), the gravitational constant (G) and the radius (r): <math>\frac{Gm}{r^2}</math>.</ref> | label83 = Template:Longitem | data83 = Template:Val<ref name="Schubert2004">Template:Cite book</ref> | label84 = Template:Longitem | data84 = 2.441 km/s<ref group=lower-alpha>Escape velocity derived from the mass (m), the gravitational constant (G) and the radius (r): <math>\textstyle\sqrt{\frac{2Gm}{r | label85 = Template:Longitem | data85 = | label86 = Template:Longitem | data86 = | label87 = Template:Longitem | data87 = | label88 = Template:Longitem | data88 = | label89 = Template:Longitem | data89 = | label90 = Template:Longitem | data90 = | label91 = Template:Longitem | data91 = | label92 = Template:Longitem | data92 = | label93 = {{#if: |Template:Longitem |Albedo}} | data93 = | label94 = Temperature | data94 =

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Surface temp.	min	mean	max
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| header110 = Atmosphere

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Callisto (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell) is the second-largest moon of Jupiter, after Ganymede. In the Solar System it is the third-largest moon after Ganymede and Saturn's largest moon Titan, and nearly as large as the smallest planet Mercury. Callisto is, with a diameter of Template:Val, roughly a third larger than Earth's Moon and orbits Jupiter on average at a distance of Template:Val, which is about five times further out than the Moon orbiting Earth. It is the outermost of the four large Galilean moons of Jupiter,<ref name=orbit/> which were discovered in 1610 with one of the first telescopes, and is today visible from Earth with common binoculars.

The surface of Callisto is the oldest and most heavily cratered in the Solar System.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Its surface is completely covered with impact craters.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It does not show any signatures of subsurface processes such as plate tectonics or volcanism, with no signs that geological activity in general has ever occurred, and is thought to have evolved predominantly under the influence of impacts.<ref name="Greeley 2000"/> Prominent surface features include multi-ring structures, variously shaped impact craters, and chains of craters (catenae) and associated scarps, ridges and deposits.<ref name="Greeley 2000"/> At a small scale, the surface is varied and made up of small, sparkly frost deposits at the tips of high spots, surrounded by a low-lying, smooth blanket of dark material.<ref name=Moore2004/> This is thought to result from the sublimation-driven degradation of small landforms, which is supported by the general deficit of small impact craters and the presence of numerous small knobs, considered to be their remnants.<ref name=Moore1999/> The absolute ages of the landforms are not known. Callisto is composed of approximately equal amounts of rock and ice, with a density of about Template:Val, the lowest density and surface gravity of Jupiter's major moons. Compounds detected spectroscopically on the surface include water ice,<ref name="NYT-20150315">Template:Cite news</ref> carbon dioxide, silicates and organic compounds. Investigation by the Galileo spacecraft revealed that Callisto may have a small silicate core and possibly a subsurface ocean of liquid water<ref name="NYT-20150315"/> at depths greater than Template:Val.<ref name=Kuskov2005/><ref name="Showman1999">Template:Cite journal</ref>

It is not in an orbital resonance like the three other Galilean satellites—Io, Europa and Ganymede—and is thus not appreciably tidally heated.<ref name=Musotto2002/> Callisto's rotation is tidally locked to its orbit around Jupiter, so that it always faces the same direction, making Jupiter appear to hang directly overhead over its near-side. It is less affected by Jupiter's magnetosphere than the other inner satellites because of its more remote orbit, located just outside Jupiter's main radiation belt.<ref name=Cooper2001/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Callisto is surrounded by an extremely thin atmosphere composed of carbon dioxide<ref name="Carlson 1999"/> and probably molecular oxygen,<ref name="Liang 2005"/> as well as by a rather intense ionosphere.<ref name="Kliore 2002"/> Callisto is thought to have formed by slow accretion from the disk of the gas and dust that surrounded Jupiter after its formation.<ref name=Canup2002/> Callisto's gradual accretion and the lack of tidal heating meant that not enough heat was available for rapid differentiation. The slow convection in the interior of Callisto, which commenced soon after formation, led to partial differentiation and possibly to the formation of a subsurface ocean at a depth of 100–150 km and a small, rocky core.<ref name="Spohn 2003"/>

The likely presence of an ocean within Callisto leaves open the possibility that it could harbor life. However, conditions are thought to be less favorable than on nearby Europa.<ref name=Lipps2004/> Various space probes from Pioneers 10 and 11 to Galileo and Cassini have studied Callisto. Because of its low radiation levels, Callisto has long been considered the most suitable to base possible future crewed missions on to study the Jovian system.<ref name=HOPE/>

HistoryEdit

DiscoveryEdit

Callisto was discovered independently by Simon Marius and Galileo Galilei in 1610, along with the three other large Jovian moons—Ganymede, Io and Europa.<ref name=Galilei>Template:Cite book</ref>

NameEdit

Callisto, like all of Jupiter's moons, is named after one of Zeus's many lovers or other sexual partners in Greek mythology. Callisto was a nymph (or, according to some sources, the daughter of Lycaon) who was associated with the goddess of the hunt, Artemis.<ref name=Galileo/> The name was suggested by Simon Marius soon after Callisto's discovery.<ref name="Marius">Template:Cite book</ref> Marius attributed the suggestion to Johannes Kepler.<ref name=Galileo>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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However, the names of the Galilean satellites fell into disfavor for a considerable time, and were not revived in common use until the mid-20th century. In much of the earlier astronomical literature, Callisto is referred to by its Roman numeral designation, a system introduced by Galileo, as Template:Nowrap or as "the fourth satellite of Jupiter".<ref name=Barnard1892>Template:Cite journal</ref>

There is no established English adjectival form of the name. The adjectival form of Greek Καλλιστῴ Kallistōi is Καλλιστῴος Kallistōi-os, from which one might expect Latin Callistōius and English *Callistóian (with 5 syllables), parallel to Sapphóian (4 syllables) for Sapphō_i<ref>The Thistle, January 1903, vol. I, no. 2, p. 4</ref> and Letóian for Lētō_i.<ref>E. Alan Roberts (2013) The Courage of Innocence: (The Virgin of Phileros), p. 191</ref> However, the iota subscript is often omitted from such Greek names (cf. Inóan<ref>George Stuart (1882) The Eclogues, Georgics, and Moretum of Virgil, p. 271</ref> from Īnō_i<ref>Template:L&S</ref> and Argóan<ref>Noah Webster (1832) A Dictionary of the English Language</ref> from Argō_i<ref>Template:L&S</ref>), and indeed the analogous form Callistoan is found.<ref name=Klemaszewski2001>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Steven Croft (1985) "Ripple Ring Basins on Ganymede and Callisto", [ibid] p. 206</ref><ref>David M. Harland (2000) Jupiter Odyssey: The Story of NASA's Galileo Mission, p. 165</ref> In Virgil, a second oblique stem appears in Latin: Callistōn-,<ref>Genitive Callistūs or Callistōnis. Template:L&S</ref> but the corresponding Callistonian has rarely appeared in English.<ref>Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, v.71, 1911</ref> One also sees ad hoc forms, such as Callistan,<ref name=Moore1999/> Callistian<ref>P. Leonardi (1982), Geological results of twenty years of space enterprises: Satellites of Jupiter and Saturn, in Geologica romana, p. 468.</ref> and Callistean.<ref>Pierre Thomas & Philippe Mason (1985) "Tectonics of the Vahalla Structure on Callisto", Reports of Planetary Geology and Geophysics Program – 1984, NASA Technical Memorandum 87563, p. 535</ref><ref>Jean-Pierre Burg & Mary Ford (1997) Orogeny Through Time, p. 55</ref>

Planetary moons other than Earth's were never given symbols in the astronomical literature. Denis Moskowitz, a software engineer who designed most of the dwarf planet symbols, proposed a Greek kappa (the initial of Callisto) combined with the cross-bar of the Jupiter symbol as the symbol of Callisto (File:Callisto symbol (fixed width).svg). This symbol is not widely used.<ref name=moons>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Orbit and rotationEdit

File:Galilean moons around Jupiter.gif

Galilean moons around Jupiter Template:Legend2 Template:·Template:Legend2 Template:·Template:Legend2 Template:·Template:Legend2 Template:·Template:Legend2

File:001221 Cassini Jupiter & Europa & Callisto.jpg

Callisto (bottom left), Jupiter (top right) and Europa (below and left of Jupiter's Great Red Spot) as viewed by Cassini–Huygens

Callisto is the outermost of the four Galilean moons of Jupiter. It orbits at a distance of approximately 1,880,000 km (26.3 times the 71,492 km radius of Jupiter itself).<ref name=orbit>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This is significantly larger than the orbital radius—1,070,000 km—of the next-closest Galilean satellite, Ganymede. As a result of this relatively distant orbit, Callisto does not participate in mean-motion resonance—in which the three inner Galilean satellites are locked—and probably never has.<ref name=Musotto2002>Template:Cite journal</ref> Callisto is expected to be captured into the resonance in about 1.5 billion years, completing the 1:2:4:8 chain.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Like most other regular planetary moons, Callisto's rotation is locked to be synchronous with its orbit.<ref name="Anderson 2001">Template:Cite journal</ref> The length of Callisto's day, simultaneously its orbital period, is about 16.7 Earth days. Its orbit is very slightly eccentric and inclined to the Jovian equator, with the eccentricity and inclination changing quasi-periodically due to solar and planetary gravitational perturbations on a timescale of centuries. The ranges of change are 0.0072–0.0076 and 0.20–0.60°, respectively.<ref name=Musotto2002/> These orbital variations cause the axial tilt (the angle between the rotational and orbital axes) to vary between 0.4 and 1.6°.<ref name=Bills2005>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The dynamical isolation of Callisto means that it has never been appreciably tidally heated, which has important consequences for its internal structure and evolution.<ref name=Freeman2006/> Its distance from Jupiter also means that the charged-particle flux from Jupiter's magnetosphere at its surface is relatively low—about 300 times lower than, for example, that at Europa. Hence, unlike the other Galilean moons, charged-particle irradiation has had a relatively minor effect on Callisto's surface.<ref name=Cooper2001>Template:Cite journal</ref> The radiation level at Callisto's surface is equivalent to a dose of about 0.01 rem (0.1 mSv) per day, which is just over ten times higher than Earth's average background radiation,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="ringwald">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but less than in Low Earth Orbit or on Mars.

Physical characteristicsEdit

CompositionEdit

File:Callisto, Earth & Moon size comparison.jpg

Size comparison of Earth, Moon and Callisto

File:PIA00844 NIMS spectra.gif

Near-IR spectra of dark cratered plains (red) and the Asgard impact structure (blue), showing the presence of more water ice (absorption bands from 1 to 2 μm)<ref name="Clark">Template:Cite journal</ref> and less rocky material within Asgard.

The average density of Callisto, 1.83 g/cm³,<ref name="Anderson 2001"/> suggests a composition of approximately equal parts of rocky material and water ice, with some additional volatile ices such as ammonia.<ref name=Kuskov2005>Template:Cite journal</ref> The mass fraction of ices is 49–55%.<ref name=Kuskov2005/><ref name="Spohn 2003"/> The exact composition of Callisto's rock component is not known, but is probably close to the composition of L/LL type ordinary chondrites,<ref name=Kuskov2005/> which are characterized by less total iron, less metallic iron and more iron oxide than H chondrites. The weight ratio of iron to silicon is 0.9–1.3 in Callisto, whereas the solar ratio is around 1:8.<ref name=Kuskov2005/>

Callisto's surface has an albedo of about 20%.<ref name=Moore2004/> Its surface composition is thought to be broadly similar to its composition as a whole. Near-infrared spectroscopy has revealed the presence of water ice absorption bands at wavelengths of 1.04, 1.25, 1.5, 2.0 and 3.0 micrometers.<ref name=Moore2004/> Water ice seems to be ubiquitous on the surface of Callisto, with a mass fraction of 25–50%.<ref name=Showman1999/> The analysis of high-resolution, near-infrared and UV spectra obtained by the Galileo spacecraft and from the ground has revealed various non-ice materials: magnesium- and iron-bearing hydrated silicates,<ref name=Moore2004/> carbon dioxide,<ref name=Brown2003/> sulfur dioxide,<ref name=Noll1996>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and possibly ammonia and various organic compounds.<ref name=Showman1999/><ref name=Moore2004/> Spectral data indicate that Callisto's surface is extremely heterogeneous at the small scale. Small, bright patches of pure water ice are intermixed with patches of a rock–ice mixture and extended dark areas made of a non-ice material.<ref name=Moore2004/><ref name="Greeley 2000"/>

The Callistoan surface is asymmetric: the leading hemisphere<ref group=lower-alpha name=footnote2>The leading hemisphere is the hemisphere facing the direction of the orbital motion; the trailing hemisphere faces the reverse direction.</ref> is darker than the trailing one. This is different from other Galilean satellites, where the reverse is true.<ref name=Moore2004/> The trailing hemisphere<ref group=lower-alpha name=footnote2/> of Callisto appears to be enriched in carbon dioxide, whereas the leading hemisphere has more sulfur dioxide.<ref name=Hibbitts1998>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Many fresh impact craters like Lofn also show enrichment in carbon dioxide.<ref name=Hibbitts1998/> Overall, the chemical composition of the surface, especially in the dark areas, may be close to that seen on D-type asteroids,<ref name="Greeley 2000"/> whose surfaces are made of carbonaceous material.

Internal structureEdit

File:Callisto diagram.svg

Model of Callisto's internal structure showing a surface ice layer, a possible liquid water layer, and an ice–rock interior

Callisto's battered surface lies on top of a cold, stiff and icy lithosphere that is between 80 and 150 km thick.<ref name=Kuskov2005/><ref name="Spohn 2003"/> A salty ocean 150–200 km deep may lie beneath the crust,<ref name=Kuskov2005/><ref name="Spohn 2003"/> indicated by studies of the magnetic fields around Jupiter and its moons.<ref name="Khurana 2000">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Zimmer 2000">Template:Cite journal</ref> It was found that Callisto responds to Jupiter's varying background magnetic field like a perfectly conducting sphere; that is, the field cannot penetrate inside Callisto, suggesting a layer of highly conductive fluid within it with a thickness of at least 10 km.<ref name="Zimmer 2000"/> The existence of an ocean is more likely if water contains a small amount of ammonia or other antifreeze, up to 5% by weight.<ref name="Spohn 2003">Template:Cite journal</ref> In this case the water+ice layer can be as thick as 250–300 km.<ref name=Kuskov2005/> Failing an ocean, the icy lithosphere may be somewhat thicker, up to about 300 km.

Beneath the lithosphere and putative ocean, Callisto's interior appears to be neither entirely uniform nor particularly variable. Galileo orbiter data<ref name="Anderson 2001"/> (especially the dimensionless moment of inertia<ref group="lower-alpha">The dimensionless moment of inertia referred to is <math>I / (mr^2)</math>, where Template:Var is the moment of inertia, Template:Var the mass, and Template:Var the maximal radius. It is 0.4 for a homogenous spherical body, but less than 0.4 if density increases with depth.</ref>—0.3549 ± 0.0042—determined during close flybys) suggest that, if Callisto is in hydrostatic equilibrium, its interior is composed of compressed rocks and ices, with the amount of rock increasing with depth due to partial settling of its constituents.<ref name=Kuskov2005/><ref name="Anderson 1998">Template:Cite journal</ref> In other words, Callisto may be only partially differentiated. The density and moment of inertia for an equilibrium Callisto are compatible with the existence of a small silicate core in the center of Callisto. The radius of any such core cannot exceed 600 km, and the density may lie between 3.1 and 3.6 g/cm³.<ref name="Anderson 2001"/><ref name=Kuskov2005/> In this case, Callisto's interior would be in stark contrast to that of Ganymede, which appears to be fully differentiated.<ref name=Showman1999/><ref name="Sohl2002">Template:Cite journal</ref>

However, a 2011 reanalysis of Galileo data suggests that Callisto is not in hydrostatic equilibrium.<ref name=Monteux2014>Template:Cite journal</ref> In that case, the gravity data may be more consistent with a more thoroughly differentiated Callisto with a hydrated silicate core.<ref name="Castillo-Rogez2011">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Surface featuresEdit

Template:See also

File:Cratered plains PIA00745.jpg

Galileo image of cratered plains, illustrating the pervasive local smoothing of Callisto's surface

Template:Multiple image The ancient surface of Callisto is one of the most heavily cratered in the Solar System.<ref name="Zahnle 1998">Template:Cite journal</ref> In fact, the crater density is close to saturation: any new crater will tend to erase an older one. The large-scale geology is relatively simple; on Callisto there are no large mountains, volcanoes or other endogenic tectonic features.<ref name="Bender 1997">Template:Cite journal</ref> The impact craters and multi-ring structures—together with associated fractures, scarps and deposits—are the only large features to be found on the surface.<ref name="Greeley 2000"/><ref name="Bender 1997"/>

Callisto's surface can be divided into several geologically different parts: cratered plains, light plains, bright and dark smooth plains, and various units associated with particular multi-ring structures and impact craters.<ref name="Greeley 2000">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Bender 1997"/> The cratered plains make up most of the surface area and represent the ancient lithosphere, a mixture of ice and rocky material. The light plains include bright impact craters like Burr and Lofn, as well as the effaced remnants of old large craters called palimpsests,Template:Refn the central parts of multi-ring structures, and isolated patches in the cratered plains.<ref name="Greeley 2000"/> These light plains are thought to be icy impact deposits. The bright, smooth plains make up a small fraction of Callisto's surface and are found in the ridge and trough zones of the Valhalla and Asgard formations and as isolated spots in the cratered plains. They were thought to be connected with endogenic activity, but the high-resolution Galileo images showed that the bright, smooth plains correlate with heavily fractured and knobby terrain and do not show any signs of resurfacing.<ref name="Greeley 2000"/> The Galileo images also revealed small, dark, smooth areas with overall coverage less than 10,000 km², which appear to embay<ref group=lower-alpha>To embay means to shut in, or shelter, as in a bay.</ref> the surrounding terrain. They are possible cryovolcanic deposits.<ref name="Greeley 2000"/> Both the light and the various smooth plains are somewhat younger and less cratered than the background cratered plains.<ref name="Greeley 2000"/><ref name="Wagner 2001">Template:Cite conference</ref>

File:Callisto Har PIA01054.jpg

Impact crater Hár with a central dome. Chains of secondary craters from formation of the more recent crater Tindr at upper right crosscut the terrain.

Impact crater diameters seen range from 0.1 km—a limit defined by the imaging resolution—to over 100 km, not counting the multi-ring structures.<ref name="Greeley 2000"/> Small craters, with diameters less than 5 km, have simple bowl or flat-floored shapes. Those 5–40 km across usually have a central peak. Larger impact features, with diameters in the range 25–100 km, have central pits instead of peaks, such as Tindr crater.<ref name="Greeley 2000"/> The largest craters with diameters over 60 km can have central domes, which are thought to result from central tectonic uplift after an impact;<ref name="Greeley 2000"/> examples include Doh and Hár craters. A small number of very large—more than 100 km in diameter—and bright impact craters show anomalous dome geometry. These are unusually shallow and may be a transitional landform to the multi-ring structures, as with the Lofn impact feature.<ref name="Greeley 2000"/> Callisto's craters are generally shallower than those on the Moon.

File:Valhalla crater on Callisto.jpg

Voyager 1 image of Valhalla, a multi-ring impact structure 3,800 km in diameter

The largest impact features on Callisto's surface are multi-ring basins.<ref name="Greeley 2000"/><ref name="Bender 1997"/> Two are enormous. Valhalla is the largest, with a bright central region 600 km in diameter, and rings extending as far as 1,800 km from the center (see figure).<ref name="Map 2002">Template:Cite map</ref> The second largest is Asgard, measuring about 1,600 km in diameter.<ref name="Map 2002"/> Multi-ring structures probably originated as a result of a post-impact concentric fracturing of the lithosphere lying on a layer of soft or liquid material, possibly an ocean.<ref name=Klemaszewski2001/> The catenae—for example Gomul Catena—are long chains of impact craters lined up in straight lines across the surface. They were probably created by objects that were tidally disrupted as they passed close to Jupiter prior to the impact on Callisto, or by very oblique impacts.<ref name="Greeley 2000"/> A historical example of a disruption was Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9.

As mentioned above, small patches of pure water ice with an albedo as high as 80% are found on the surface of Callisto, surrounded by much darker material.<ref name=Moore2004/> High-resolution Galileo images showed the bright patches to be predominately located on elevated surface features: crater rims, scarps, ridges and knobs.<ref name=Moore2004/> They are likely to be thin water frost deposits. Dark material usually lies in the lowlands surrounding and mantling bright features and appears to be smooth. It often forms patches up to 5 km across within the crater floors and in the intercrater depressions.<ref name=Moore2004/>

File:Landslides and knobs PIA01095.jpg

Two landslides 3–3.5 km long are visible on the right sides of the floors of the two large craters on the right.

On a sub-kilometer scale the surface of Callisto is more degraded than the surfaces of other icy Galilean moons.<ref name=Moore2004/> Typically there is a deficit of small impact craters with diameters less than 1 km as compared with, for instance, the dark plains on Ganymede.<ref name="Greeley 2000"/> Instead of small craters, the almost ubiquitous surface features are small knobs and pits.<ref name=Moore2004/> The knobs are thought to represent remnants of crater rims degraded by an as-yet uncertain process.<ref name="Moore1999">Template:Cite journal</ref> The most likely candidate process is the slow sublimation of ice, which is enabled by a temperature of up to 165 K, reached at a subsolar point.<ref name=Moore2004/> Such sublimation of water or other volatiles from the dirty ice that is the bedrock causes its decomposition. The non-ice remnants form debris avalanches descending from the slopes of the crater walls.<ref name=Moore1999/> Such avalanches are often observed near and inside impact craters and termed "debris aprons".<ref name=Moore2004/><ref name="Greeley 2000"/><ref name=Moore1999/> Sometimes crater walls are cut by sinuous valley-like incisions called "gullies", which resemble certain Martian surface features.<ref name=Moore2004/> In the ice sublimation hypothesis, the low-lying dark material is interpreted as a blanket of primarily non-ice debris, which originated from the degraded rims of craters and has covered a predominantly icy bedrock.

The relative ages of the different surface units on Callisto can be determined from the density of impact craters on them. The older the surface, the denser the crater population.<ref name=Chapman1997>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Absolute dating has not been carried out, but based on theoretical considerations, the cratered plains are thought to be ~4.5 billion years old, dating back almost to the formation of the Solar System. The ages of multi-ring structures and impact craters depend on chosen background cratering rates and are estimated by different authors to vary between 1 and 4 billion years.<ref name="Greeley 2000"/><ref name="Zahnle 1998"/>

Atmosphere and ionosphereEdit

File:Callisto field.svg

Induced magnetic field around Callisto

Callisto has a very tenuous atmosphere composed of carbon dioxide<ref name="Carlson 1999">Template:Cite journal</ref> and probably oxygen. It was detected by the Galileo Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) from its absorption feature near the wavelength 4.2 micrometers. The surface pressure is estimated to be 7.5 picobar (0.75 μPa) and particle density 4Template:E-sp cm⁻³. Because such a thin atmosphere would be lost in only about four years though atmospheric escape, it must be constantly replenished, possibly by slow sublimation of carbon dioxide ice from Callisto's icy crust,<ref name="Carlson 1999"/> which would be compatible with the sublimation–degradation hypothesis for the formation of the surface knobs.

Callisto's ionosphere was first detected during Galileo flybys;<ref name="Kliore 2002">Template:Cite journal</ref> its high electron density of 7–17Template:E-sp cm⁻³ cannot be explained by the photoionization of the atmospheric carbon dioxide alone. Hence, it is suspected that the atmosphere of Callisto is actually dominated by molecular oxygen (in amounts 10–100 times greater than Template:Chem).<ref name="Liang 2005">Template:Cite journal</ref> However, oxygen has not yet been directly detected in the atmosphere of Callisto. Observations with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) placed an upper limit on its possible concentration in the atmosphere, based on lack of detection, which is still compatible with the ionospheric measurements.<ref name=Strobel2002>Template:Cite journal</ref> At the same time, HST was able to detect condensed oxygen trapped on the surface of Callisto.<ref name="Spencer2002">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Atomic hydrogen has also been detected in Callisto's atmosphere via analysis of 2001 Hubble Space Telescope data.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref> Spectral images taken on 15 and 24 December 2001 were re-examined, revealing a faint signal of scattered light that indicates a hydrogen corona. The observed brightness from the scattered sunlight in Callisto's hydrogen corona is approximately two times larger when the leading hemisphere is observed. This asymmetry may originate from a different hydrogen abundance in both the leading and trailing hemispheres. However, this hemispheric difference in Callisto's hydrogen corona brightness is likely to originate from the extinction of the signal in Earth's geocorona, which is greater when the trailing hemisphere is observed.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Origin and evolutionEdit

The partial differentiation of Callisto (inferred e.g. from moment of inertia measurements) means that it has never been heated enough to melt its ice component.<ref name="Spohn 2003"/> Therefore, the most favorable model of its formation is a slow accretion in the low-density Jovian subnebula—a disk of the gas and dust that existed around Jupiter after its formation.<ref name=Canup2002/> Such a prolonged accretion stage would allow cooling to largely keep up with the heat accumulation caused by impacts, radioactive decay and contraction, thereby preventing melting and fast differentiation.<ref name="Canup2002">Template:Cite journal</ref> The allowable timescale for the formation of Callisto lies then in the range 0.1 million–10 million years.<ref name=Canup2002/>

File:Jagged Hills PIA03455.jpg

Views of eroding (top) and mostly eroded (bottom) ice knobs (~100 m high), possibly formed from the ejecta of an ancient impact

The further evolution of Callisto after accretion was determined by the balance of the radioactive heating, cooling through thermal conduction near the surface, and solid state or subsolidus convection in the interior.<ref name=Freeman2006>Template:Cite journal</ref> Details of the subsolidus convection in the ice is the main source of uncertainty in the models of all icy moons. It is known to develop when the temperature is sufficiently close to the melting point, due to the temperature dependence of ice viscosity.<ref name=McKinnon2006/> Subsolidus convection in icy bodies is a slow process with ice motions of the order of 1 centimeter per year, but is, in fact, a very effective cooling mechanism on long timescales.<ref name=McKinnon2006>Template:Cite journal</ref> It is thought to proceed in the so-called stagnant lid regime, where a stiff, cold outer layer of Callisto conducts heat without convection, whereas the ice beneath it convects in the subsolidus regime.<ref name="Spohn 2003"/><ref name=McKinnon2006/> For Callisto, the outer conductive layer corresponds to the cold and rigid lithosphere with a thickness of about 100 km. Its presence would explain the lack of any signs of the endogenic activity on the Callistoan surface.<ref name=McKinnon2006/><ref name=Nagel2004/> The convection in the interior parts of Callisto may be layered, because under the high pressures found there, water ice exists in different crystalline phases beginning from the ice I on the surface to ice VII in the center.<ref name=Freeman2006/> The early onset of subsolidus convection in the Callistoan interior could have prevented large-scale ice melting and any resulting differentiation that would have otherwise formed a large rocky core and icy mantle. Due to the convection process, however, very slow and partial separation and differentiation of rocks and ices inside Callisto has been proceeding on timescales of billions of years and may be continuing to this day.<ref name=Nagel2004>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The current understanding of the evolution of Callisto allows for the existence of a layer or "ocean" of liquid water in its interior. This is connected with the anomalous behavior of ice I phase's melting temperature, which decreases with pressure, achieving temperatures as low as 251 K at 2,070 bar (207 MPa).<ref name="Spohn 2003"/> In all realistic models of Callisto the temperature in the layer between 100 and 200 km in depth is very close to, or exceeds slightly, this anomalous melting temperature.<ref name=Freeman2006/><ref name=McKinnon2006/><ref name=Nagel2004/> The presence of even small amounts of ammonia—about 1–2% by weight—almost guarantees the liquid's existence because ammonia would lower the melting temperature even further.<ref name="Spohn 2003"/>

Although Callisto is very similar in bulk properties to Ganymede, it apparently had a much simpler geological history. The surface appears to have been shaped mainly by impacts and other exogenic forces.<ref name="Greeley 2000"/> Unlike neighboring Ganymede with its grooved terrain, there is little evidence of tectonic activity.<ref name=Showman1999/> Explanations that have been proposed for the contrasts in internal heating and consequent differentiation and geologic activity between Callisto and Ganymede include differences in formation conditions,<ref name = "Barr2">Template:Cite journal</ref> the greater tidal heating experienced by Ganymede,<ref name = "Showman2">Template:Cite journal</ref> and the more numerous and energetic impacts that would have been suffered by Ganymede during the Late Heavy Bombardment.<ref name = "Baldwin">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="LPI1158">Template:Cite conference</ref><ref name="Barr">Template:Cite journal</ref> The relatively simple geological history of Callisto provides planetary scientists with a reference point for comparison with other more active and complex worlds.<ref name=Showman1999/>

HabitabilityEdit

It is speculated that there could be life in Callisto's subsurface ocean. Like Europa and Ganymede, as well as Saturn's moons Enceladus, Dione and Titan and Neptune's moon Triton,<ref name="Triton subsurface ocean">Template:Cite journal</ref> a possible subsurface ocean might be composed of salt water.

It is possible that halophiles could thrive in the ocean.<ref name="NASA finds ocean">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As with Europa and Ganymede, the idea has been raised that habitable conditions and even extraterrestrial microbial life may exist in the salty ocean under the Callistoan surface.<ref name=Lipps2004>Template:Cite journal</ref> However, the environmental conditions necessary for life appear to be less favorable on Callisto than on Europa. The principal reasons are the lack of contact with rocky material and the lower heat flux from the interior of Callisto.<ref name=Lipps2004/> Callisto's ocean is heated only by radioactive decay, while Europa's is also heated by tidal energy, as it is much closer to Jupiter.<ref name="NASA finds ocean"/> It is thought that of all of Jupiter's moons, Europa has the greatest chance of supporting microbial life.<ref name=Lipps2004/><ref name="François2005">Template:Cite journal</ref>

ExplorationEdit

PastEdit

The Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 Jupiter encounters in the early 1970s contributed little new information about Callisto in comparison with what was already known from Earth-based observations.<ref name=Moore2004>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The real breakthrough happened later with the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 flybys in 1979. They imaged more than half of the Callistoan surface with a resolution of 1–2 km, and precisely measured its temperature, mass and shape.<ref name=Moore2004/> A second round of exploration lasted from 1994 to 2003, when the Galileo spacecraft had eight close encounters with Callisto, the last flyby during the C30 orbit in 2001 came as close as 138 km to the surface. The Galileo orbiter completed the global imaging of the surface and delivered a number of pictures with a resolution as high as 15 meters of selected areas of Callisto.<ref name="Greeley 2000"/> In 2000, the Cassini spacecraft en route to Saturn acquired high-quality infrared spectra of the Galilean satellites including Callisto.<ref name=Brown2003>Template:Cite journal</ref> In February–March 2007, the New Horizons probe on its way to Pluto obtained new images and spectra of Callisto.<ref name=Morring2007>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Future explorationEdit

Callisto will be visited by three spacecraft in the near future.

The European Space Agency's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE), which launched on 14 April 2023, will perform 21 close flybys of Callisto between 2031 and 2034.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name='selection'>Template:Cite news</ref>

NASA's Europa Clipper, which launched on 14 October 2024, will conduct nine close flybys of Callisto beginning in 2030.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

China's CNSA Tianwen-4 is planned to launch to Jupiter around 2030 before entering orbit around Callisto.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Old proposalsEdit

Formerly proposed for a launch in 2020, the Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM) was a joint NASA/ESA proposal for exploration of Jupiter's moons. In February 2009 it was announced that ESA/NASA had given this mission priority ahead of the Titan Saturn System Mission.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At the time ESA's contribution still faced funding competition from other ESA projects.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> EJSM consisted of the NASA-led Jupiter Europa Orbiter, the ESA-led Jupiter Ganymede Orbiter and possibly a JAXA-led Jupiter Magnetospheric Orbiter.

Potential crewed exploration and habitationEdit

File:Callisto base.PNG

Artist's impression of a base on Callisto<ref name="CallistoBase"/>

In 2003 NASA conducted a conceptual study called Human Outer Planets Exploration (HOPE) regarding the future human exploration of the outer Solar System. The target chosen to consider in detail was Callisto.<ref name=HOPE>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The study proposed a possible surface base on Callisto that would produce rocket propellant for further exploration of the Solar System.<ref name="CallistoBase">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Advantages of a base on Callisto include low radiation (due to its distance from Jupiter) and geological stability. Such a base could facilitate remote exploration of Europa, or be an ideal location for a Jovian system waystation servicing spacecraft heading farther into the outer Solar System, using a gravity assist from a close flyby of Jupiter after departing Callisto.<ref name=HOPE/>

In December 2003, NASA reported that a crewed mission to Callisto might be possible in the 2040s.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>