Gravitational evidence for an undifferentiated Callisto

Details Gravitational evidence for an undifferentiated Callisto Gravitational evidence for an undifferentiated Callisto

May 1997

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997natur.387..264a&link_type=abstract

Nature, Volume 387, Issue 6630, pp. 264-266 (1997).

Computer Science

30

Scientific paper

Before the arrival of the Galileo spacecraft at Jupiter, models for the interior structure of the four galilean satellites-Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto-ranged from uniform mixtures of rock and ice (that is, undifferentiated objects) or rocky cores surrounded by a mantle of water ice1. Now it appears that lo has a large metallic core2 and that Ganymede is strongly differentiated, most probably into a three-layer structure consisting of a metallic core, a silicate mantle and a deep outer layer of ice3. Direct information on the interior structure of Callisto determined from previous spacecraft fly-bys4-6 was essentially limited to an estimate of the mean density being intermediate between pure ice and pure rock. Here we report measurements of Callisto's gravitational field which reveal that, in contrast to Io and Ganymede, this galilean satellite is most probably a homogeneous object consisting of a solar mixture of 40% compressed ice and 60% rock (including iron and iron sulphide). Callisto's undifferentiated state is consistent with the apparent lack of an intrinsic magnetic field7, and indicates that the outermost galilean satellite has not experienced a heating phase sufficiently high to separate its rock and metal components from the lighter ices.

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