The Moons of Jupiter: Difference between revisions

The first four to be found (Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto) were discovered by Galileo himself and thus are called the Galilean Moons. He [[Yes -Man|wanted to name them after his patrons]], the Medicis, but later generations of astronomers thought otherwise. The same night Galileo discovered them, a German by the name of Simon Marius -- who'd independently gotten the idea of pointing a telescope at the heavens -- also saw the same 4 moons, and named them after four of Jupiter's lovers from [[Classical Mythology]]; it's these names that are still in use today.

Just smaller than our Moon, Europa is covered by a cracked, frozen ocean (smoother than a billiard ball would be if it was the same size) and has a tenuous atmosphere (on earth it would be considered a pretty decent vacuum). It may support simple life under the surface. Here the radiation levels (540 rem/day) are less, so you'll have [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_ghost_phase:Walking ghost phase|up to a week or so to get your affairs together]]. [[Two Thousand Ten|Attempt no landings here]]. However, the ocean under the ice is considered a good place to colonize, with the thick ice crust protecting from radiation.