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Callisto

Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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Definition

Callisto is a satellite of Jupiter discovered by Galileo Galilei in January 1610; it is the outermost of the Galilean satellites. With a radius of 2,410 km, Callisto is, after Ganymede and Titan, the third biggest satellite in the solar system. Its distance to Jupiter is 1,882,700 km or 26 Jovian radii. Its density is 1.8 g/cm3, typical of icy objects. Callisto has been investigated by the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft in 1979, then by the Galileo orbiter between 1995 and 2003. The surface of Callisto is heavily cratered and consists of a mixture of ice and dust. A great basin, Valhalla, over 500 km in diameter, is the signature of a large major impact.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LESIA – Bâtiment ISO (n°17), Observatoire de Paris – Section de Meudon, 5, Place Jules Janssen, 92195, Meudon, France

    Therese Encrenaz

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  1. Therese Encrenaz
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Correspondence to Therese Encrenaz .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Encrenaz, T. (2014). Callisto. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_215-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_215-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Callisto
    Published:
    05 October 2021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_215-4

  2. Original

    Callisto
    Published:
    29 April 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_215-3

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