wiki Word: Ganymede

pronunciation: gan-uh-meed

Definition: the largest moon of the planet Jupiter and of our solar system

Ganymede was discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei and Marius. The largest planet in our Solar System, its diameter is 5262 kilometers, but its mass is only 1.48^23 kilograms (that's science talk for 1.48 to the power of 23 kilograms). Ganymede is larger than both Mercury AND Pluto in size. As a matter of fact, if Ganymede weren't orbiting around Jupiter, it could be classified as a planet. The moon Ganymede has two types of terrain; an extremely old terrain with high craters, and a younger (but still old) terrain that has an abundant amount of grooves and ridges. Its orbit around Jupiter, is the 3rd closest, following Io and Europa. Following Ganymede is Callisto.

Ganymede was named after the Greek god Ganymede. Ganymede was a young boy whom was beautiful. Zeus quickly fell in love with him and carried him away to Mount Olympus, home of the gods. Zeus then named him as his male lover and as cupbearer to the gods. He also was made immortal. Ganymede was then made into a constellation, now known as Aquarius. The name however, was given randomly by a name device created by Marius and Kepler. He just happened to name the moon that orbits around Jupiter (the Roman name for Zeus) Ganymede.

But how will you be able to remember Ganymede's great size or position of orbit? Well I have two great helping phrases.

giGANtic garGANtuan GANymede

Icecubes Ever Grow Colder

                      o                u           a              a

                                            r           n               l

                                           o           y                l

                                           p           m               i

                                           a           e                s

                                                        d                t

                                                        e                o

 named after Greek god

Ganymede, Other Galilean Moons, and

Moon Comparison

Ganymede, Mercury, Mars, and Moon

Comparison

The reason we are studying this term in class is because we are learning about the entire universe and every part of it. Ganymede is an important part of the

 universe because it is the largest moon of our Solar System.

You need to understand this term in order to be sucessful in science because it is part of our planetary system. It also is used in many comparisons of size and it is a record holder in our universe.

Along with that, it is just one step we must take in understanding better our universe. We must first start small and discover the things in our Solar System and understand them and the way they work before we can understand the universe around us.

Lastly, we must know about Ganymede and how it might affect the Earth or Moon in any way or at any time. The only way this term really applies to the real world is that it has a little amount of oxygen in its atmosphere, but if there ever were to be an increase, it could be inhabitable at one time. Also, it is, as I explained before, a small step in understanding our universe.

Arnett, Bill. "Ganymede." Nine Planets. 31 Oct 1997. 9 May 2008

< http://www.nineplanets.org/ganymede.html >.

(Ganymede the Moon Information)

"Zeus and Ganymede." The World History of Male Love. 9 May 2008

< http://www.androphile.org/gay-history/gay-literature/

homosexual-mythology-folktales/greek-homosexuality/

zeus-ganymede-gay/zeus-ganymede-gay.html >.

(Ganymede the God Information)

 Ganymede Moon Picture found at http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~soper/ImJupiter/ganymede.gif

Ganymede God Picture found at http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/

Ganymede_Louvre.jpg/450px-Ganymede_Louvre.jpg

Ganymede, Our Moon,  and Other Galilean Moons Comparison Picture found at http://www.astronomynotes.com/solarsys/pics/galilean-satellitesb.jpg

Ganymede, Mercury, Mars, and Our Moon Comparison Picture found at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/images/ganymede/moonfamily.gif

 Zoe R.

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