Get to know one of the most heavily cratered moons in our solar system with this stunning 12" desktop globe.
Astronomy magazine is proud to unveil the all-new Callisto Globe - available exclusively through MyScienceShop.com. Developed by Trent Hare at the United States Geological Survey Astrogeology Science Center using data supplied by the Galileo, Voyager 1, and Voyager 2 spacecraft, a mosaic was created by selecting data on overall image quality, reasonable input resolution, and availability of moderate viewing angles for topography.
This moon, along with the three other large moons of Jupiter, was discovered by Italian scientist Galileo Galilei in 1610. He called them Medicean Stars. However, in his honor of the discovery, they are now most often called Galilean satellites. They were the first bodies found that orbited another planet.
Callisto is made of equal parts rock and ice, mostly water ice. Because there isn't a lot of ice near the surface, the moon is not at all reflective. It reflects just 20 percent of the sunlight falling on it back into space.
Callisto is different than the other large moons if Jupiter in an unusual way. Ganymede, Europa, and Io have leading hemispheres that are lighter than their trailing hemispheres, but Callisto's leading hemisphere is the darker one.
The surface of this moon is one of the most heavily cratered in the solar system. In fact, the density of craters is close to saturation, which means that if a new crater forms, it will destroy an existing one. There's simply no space for new craters.
This richly detailed, injection-molded 12" desktop globe shows 154 of Callisto's most notable named surface features. Ganymede's surface features range in size from 6.9 miles (11.1 km) wide for Saga Crater to 1,864 miles (3,000 km) wide for the large ringed feature, Valhalla.
Each globe is made of long-lasting durable plastic with just a single seam between hemispheres and comes with a clear acrylic display base and informational flyer.