1. Name two surface features that Ganymede appears to have in common with the Mo
ID: 118572 • Letter: 1
Question
1. Name two surface features that Ganymede appears to have in common with the Moon.
2. In what ways are these features similar? In what ways must the origins of the features on Ganymede be different?
Ganymede (Jupiter's satellite) The figures below show the Earth's Moon (left) and Ganymede (right) side by side. Note that the images are not to scale. The Moon's is 3474 km in diameter and Ganymede is nearly double that at 5268 km. If you feel the images on this activity are insufficient for you to answer the questions (need higher resolution or better color contrast, etc) feel free to use Google Images to look up more images of the objects in question.Explanation / Answer
1) Ganymede's surface is similar to that of Earth's moon in that is composed of two types of terrain. About half of the surface is old and cratered while the rest consists of much younger, lighter regions. Some of the craters even exhibit rays of ejecta material. Unlike the Moon, however, craters on Ganymede lack ring mountains and central depressions. Astronomers believe this is caused by the icy surface flowing over time. The younger regions are marked with grooves and ridges. These are believed to have been formed by tectonic forces very similar to those that shape the surface of the Earth. For this reason, some astronomers believe that Ganymede is more closely related to the Earth than Venus or Mars are.
Cratering is seen on both types of terrain, but is especially extensive on the dark terrain: it appears to be saturated with impact craters and has evolved largely through impact events. The density of cratering indicates an age of 4 billion years for the dark terrain, similar to the highlands of the Moon, and a somewhat younger age for the grooved terrain (but how much younger is uncertain). Ganymede may have experienced a period of heavy cratering 3.5 to 4 billion years ago similar to that of the Moon
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