Advanced Intermediate Beginner Home English Spanish

Interior of Callisto



This is a cutaway of Calisto's interior.
Click on image for full size version (113K JPEG)
Image from: NASA
When the Galileo spacecraft flew by Callisto, it made measurements which showed that Callisto was made almost entirely of the same thing. This means that Callisto never separated into layers, but is probably formed of a unusual material which is made of rock and ice combined. The fact that Callisto never separated, early in its history, probably means that Callisto never warmed up after formation.

At the same time, there were some measurements that suggested that there might be a thin salty-slushy layer of watery-ice that creates current. Water supports current. That is why people don’t drop electric appliances into the bathtub! An instrument on the spacecraft that is sensitive to current measured something that, like on Callisto, suggested a watery layer was present on Ganymede and Europa as well.

This is a picture that shows the interiors of Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto together.

Return to Callisto

Return to moons


Credits Settings Sponsorship Membership Contact us About the site Site map Help Myths People News Arts, books and film Images and multimedia Tours Life Geology Physics Space weather Space Missions Solar system Astronomy and the Universe Shop for science stuff Games Ask a scientist Journal Comets Dwarfs Neptune Uranus Saturn Jupiter Asteroids Mars Earth Venus Mercury Sun Teacher resources Kids Space Search Home



Last modified September 19, 2003 by Jennifer Bergman.
The source of this material is Windows to the Universe, at http://www.windows.ucar.edu/ at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). © The Regents of the University of Michigan. Windows to the Universe® is a registered trademark of UCAR. All Rights Reserved. Site policies and disclaimer