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Icy Moon



This is an image of Europa
Click on image for full size version (92K GIF)
Image from: NASA
Icy moons are large or small moons which are mostly made of ice. These moons are unlike the earth's moon, which is made of silicate rock.

Perfect examples of icy moons are 3 of the Galilean satellites, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. Except maybe for Europa and Triton, these moons have no atmosphere.

But the surfaces of these moons, especially Ganymede, show that in their history, something may have happened inside which changed the way the surface of the moon looks today. Activity in the interior could also provide an environment suitable for life.




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Last modified February 9, 1996 by the Windows Team

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