Illustration of Jupiter as seen across the icy surface of its largest moon, Ganymede. Ganymede is also the largest moon in the solar system, bigger than the planet Mercury and the dwarf planet Pluto. NASA's Hubble Telescope has found the best evidence yet for an underground saltwater ocean on Ganymede. This ocean is estimated to be 100 kilometres thick – 10 times deeper than Earth's ocean – and is thought to be buried under a 150-kilometer thick crust of mostly ice. Identifying liquid water is crucial in the search for habitable worlds beyond Earth and in the search for life.

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Size: 4134px × 4148px
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Photo credit: © DETLEV VAN RAVENSWAAY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: -, artwork, astrogeology, astronomical, astronomy, bodies, body, celestial, cgi, cold, digitally, galilean, ganymede, gas, generated, geological, geology, giant, ice, icy, iii, illustration, jovian, jupiter, moon, moons, natural, planet, planetary, rock, rocky, satellite, satellites, science, silicate, solar, space, surface, system, terrain