Wikijunior:Solar System/Jupiter/Amalthea

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Amalthea

Amalthea Facts:

  • Amalthea is the reddest object in the Solar System, even redder than Mars.

Amalthea is the third moon of Jupiter.

Contents

[edit] How big is Amalthea?

Amalthea is not spherical like a ball, instead it looks like an asteroid. It has an average diameter of 172 km.

[edit] What is its surface like?

The surface of Amalthea has many craters. The largest crater, called Pan, is 100 km across and 8 km deep. Another crater, called Gaea, is 80 km across and twice as deep as Pan, being 16 km deep.

There are two mountains on Amalthea. They are called Mons Lyctas and Mons Ida.

[edit] How long is a day on Amalthea?

One day on Amalthea is equal to about half of an Earth day. One day is 11 hours, 57 minutes, and 23 seconds, barely more time than Jupiter takes to rotate.

[edit] How long is its orbit around Jupiter?

One orbit around Jupiter also takes half a day.

[edit] How would Amalthea's gravity pull on me?

If you stood on the surface of Amalthea, you would weigh only 1/555 of what you do on Earth. A one hundred pound person would weigh only 0.18 pounds on Amalthea!

This means that if you could lift ten kilograms on earth, you could hold three cars on Amalthea. The strongest weightlifter would be able to lift a blue whale, the heaviest animal on Earth.

[edit] Who is it named after?

Amalthea is named after a nymph in Greek myths who nursed Zeus, which is another name for Jupiter, with goat's milk.

[edit] How was it discovered?

Amalthea was discovered on September 22, 1892 by Edward Emerson Barnard, using the 36 inch (91 cm) refractor telescope at Lick Observatory.

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