The Moons of Jupiter: Difference between revisions

== The innermost moons (Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, Thebe) ==

 

 

Four irregular shaped moons, being pretty small and not large enough to form into spheres. Due to tidal forces, the first two will eventually drop into the planet or break up into ring particles. The largest, Amalthea, was discovered in 1892 and is very, very red. The radiation levels this close to Jupiter ''will'' kill you faster than you can say "non-functional DNA".

 

== Space Pizza: Io ==

 

About 3640km in diameter, Io is one of the Galilean moons.

== Ice World: Europa ==

 

 

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 [[wikipedia:Walking ghost phase|up to a week or so to get your affairs together]]. [[2010: The Year We Make Contact|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.

== Big Brother: Ganymede ==

 

 

The largest moon in the Solar System. Larger than Mercury, it could count as a planet if on its own if it weren't already attached to one. Its surface shows evidence of past geological activity. A popular sci-fi setting, even if it is really just a bigger version of our Moon, in other words, [[Deader Than Disco|deader than tanktops]]. The radiation here (8 rem/day) won't kill you directly, but you might want to invest in a surrogate gamete donor (those eggs and sperm cells spoil easy!) or an MRI machine (so you can get a cancer scan every six months or so). Also has an under-ice ocean which is probably good for colonization, but the ice crust is thicker, perhaps too thick to drill.

== Bullseye: Callisto ==

 

 

Almost as big as Mercury and the third biggest moon in the Solar System, this dead world is outside the main radiation belts of Jupiter and is the outermost Galilean moon. At larger scales it's covered by draters on top of other craters. At smaller scales, the surface shows more variety, with plains and knobs, probably formed by the erosion of yet more craters. The general calmness of the place (0.01 rem/day average) makes it a good location to colonise, but most writers tend to ignore it.