JWST peeks at Callisto's ancient scars
New data from the James Webb Space Telescope reveals that Jupiter's moon Callisto is more geologically active than previously thought. Astronomers identified specific patterns of water ice distribution across the moon's surface, particularly near major impact basins.
Why it matters
Advances our understanding of planetary science and the geological history of moons within our solar system.
edited by Lisa Lock , reviewed by Andrew Zinin
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Add as preferred source Image of Callisto with a inset of the Valhala multi-ring impact crater. Credit: NASA/JPL/ASU Of Jupiter's four Galilean moons, Callisto is the one that gets the least attention. Io is constantly being resurfaced by volcanoes. Europa has a giant liquid water ocean. And Ganymede has its own magnetic field that interacts with its parent planet in weird ways. Callisto, by comparison, seems sedate, with its ancient, crater-saturated surface seemingly frozen in time. But new data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) shows that even this most benign of the Big Four moons is more active than previously realized.
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