Mysterious Amalthea is a satellite of Jupiter

In order to find Amalthea, we start withthe search for Jupiter. It moves along the constellation of Pisces and does not have a permanent location in it. This planet is different in size and shines brightly, so wherever Jupiter is in the sky, you will notice a brighter star in the background of more dim objects.

Opening and title

Amalthea is the most mysterious of all the moons of Jupiter.

Amalthea is a satellite discovered in 1892. Edward Emelson Barnand, in the Lika Observatory with the help of a telescope-refractor. It became the final satellite detected by visual observation, and not by a photographic method, like all the others. The satellite had no name for a long time, since the pioneer called it simply the fifth satellite of Jupiter. And almost a century later, in 1976, it got its name - Amalthea. This is the name of the goat that raised the baby Zeus (in Greek mythology).

The satellites of Jupiter

Today, it is not known for sure how many satellites Jupiter has, but scientists suggest that there are at least hundreds of them. To date, they are recorded 67, and only 63 objects have been well researched.

All the satellites of the planet are divided into threecategory "gallium", internal and external, the largest were named after the ancient heroes. Jupiter is known to have the largest number of satellites, this explains why there are so many "moons" near it, since it has a powerful gravitational field.

The dimensions of the satellites of Jupiter are very different. Among them, the bodies are fairly small, medium and large. The largest and most famous of them are four Galilean satellites: Ganymede, Europe, Io and Callisto, discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610. The gallium satellites surrounded Jupiter after its formation and were formed from dust and gases.

Groups of satellites of the planet Jupiter

The outer group consists of small satellites,the diameter of which varies from 1 to 170 km. Their orbits are quite elongated and inclined to the equator of Jupiter. At the moment there are 59 objects of the external group. Satellites that are in close proximity to the planet move in their orbits in the direction of Jupiter's rotation, and most of the remote satellites move in the opposite direction. The inner group includes the largest satellites, such as Amalthea, Adrasay, Metis and Phoebe.

physical characteristics

"Moon" has an irregular shape, this elongated bean-shaped body, directed with its sharp end to the planet Jupiter.

Amalthea - a satellite is quite unique, itmakes a turn around its axis and around the gas giant synchronously for 0.498 days. The entire surface of the "Moon" is strewn with craters, some of them are huge in size, such as Pan and Gaia (today only two foci and two craters have names, the rest are unnamed). Amalthea is a satellite that has its own ring, named for a fuzzy structure "spiderweb". The formed ring is gradually formed by knocking out particles with meteorites from its surface layer.

Gravity on Amalthea is very small, sodust particles and fragments easily leave its surface. The satellite is the fifth in size, second only to "gallium", the third in distance from Jupiter. Its linear dimensions are 250 by 146 and 128 km, respectively. Like many satellites, it is constantly facing the planet with the same side. Amalthea is a satellite that emits more heat than it consumes from the Sun, but it is not a consequence of any processes inside it, but a secondary warming caused by the radiation of Jupiter and charged particles. The scientists calculated its density, it was 0.9 ± 0.1 g / cm3. Based on the size and mass of Amalthea, on this basis they concluded that the main part of it is watery ice. And the ice is not solid, but with emptiness that has collapsed into the body under the influence of gravity.

Spectral analysis indicates the existence ofsulfur compounds and hydrated different minerals. Scientists suggest that Amalthea is once captured by an asteroid or was formed in a more distant orbit. During the formation of Jupiter and its satellites, the temperature in this orbit reached 800 ° C, and the ice Amalthea simply could not appear there. The very existence is difficult to explain, the satellite is too large to form from planetary rings. Most likely, Jupiter captured her from the outside. You can observe similar phenomena in our days with comets and asteroids.

Color of the satellite

Amalthea - (a satellite of Jupiter) - one of the few of its "Lun", but the most mysterious. In addition, its coloration is more saturated than that of the "red planet" of Mars.

Some scientists believe that the red color isa consequence of settled sulfur, which erupts into space by Io volcanoes (a satellite of Jupiter, where constant volcanic activity is observed). And others believe that this is the formation of chlorine with magnesium, potassium and sodium, which include an admixture of iron-containing oxides and form a red hue. The satellite is not all red, there are green spots on it. Some scientists suggest that the blame for this gaseous chlorine, filling the voids inside the cosmic body, as a result of being forced onto its surface, it forms green spots.

Research

The first pictures of the "Moon" of Jupiter were made in 1979the Voyager-1 and Voyager-2 flying vehicles, with the help of this survey in the infrared spectrum, data were obtained on the temperature regime of the surface.

In 1996-2000 the Galileo apparatus made the best shots (2.4 km / pixel). He, flying past Amalthea, calculated the mass by the magnitude of the deviation in his own movement.

In 2000-2001 the device "Cassini" specifiedorbit of Amalthea. In 2006, the device "New Horizons" re-determined the satellite's orbit. However, this knowledge is not enough. Scientists are still interested in how many satellites Jupiter has? The modern orbital station "Hubble" continues research in search of new satellites of our solar system. Let's hope that the mystery of Almatea will soon be solved.