- The asteroid impact was so large that it completely displaced Ganymede’s axis.
When you think of huge asteroids, you might think of the space rock that crashed into Earth and wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.
But this asteroid paled in comparison to another devastating rock that rocked our Solar System four billion years ago.
Scientists have discovered evidence that an asteroid 20 times the size of the one that ended the age of the dinosaurs crashed into Jupiter’s moon Ganymede.
The impact was so large that it completely shifted Ganymede’s axis, according to researchers at Kobe University.
Although several questions remain about the incident, researchers hope to finally get some answers when the European Space Agency’s JUICE spacecraft visits Ganymede in 2034.
When you think of giant asteroids, you might think of the space rock that crashed into Earth and wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. But this asteroid pales in comparison to another devastating rock, which rocked our Solar System four billion years ago (artist’s impression)
In the 1980s, researchers discovered large grooves that form concentric circles around a specific spot on Ganymede’s surface.
With a radius of 1,635 miles, Ganymede is the largest moon in the Solar System.
Like our own moon, it is tidally locked, meaning it always faces the same side toward Jupiter.
In the 1980s, researchers discovered large grooves that form concentric circles around a specific spot on Ganymede’s surface.
“Jupiter’s moons Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto all have interesting individual features, but the one that caught my attention were these grooves on Ganymede,” said Hirata Naoyuki, lead author of the study.
‘We know this formation was created by an asteroid impact about 4 billion years ago, but we weren’t sure how big this impact was or what effect it had on the Moon.’
The asteroid’s impact was so large that it completely shifted Ganymede’s axis, according to researchers at Kobe University (artist’s impression)
Ganymede is currently largely unexplored, meaning data on the massive moon is sparse.
Ganymede is currently largely unexplored, meaning data from the moon are scarce.
Instead, researchers focused their attention on the dwarf planet Pluto.
Previous studies using data from the New Horizons spacecraft have confirmed that Pluto also suffered an impact that caused its rotation axis to shift.
And based on the location of the grooves on Ganymede – on the farthest meridian from Jupiter – the researchers indicate that the moon was also reoriented by the asteroid collision.
When you think of huge asteroids, you might think of the space rock that crashed into Earth and wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago (artist’s impression).
In their new study, the researchers reveal that the asteroid likely had a diameter of about 186 miles and created a massive crater between 870 and 994 miles across.
“I want to understand the origin and evolution of Ganymede and other moons of Jupiter,” Hirata added.
‘The giant impact must have had a significant impact on the early evolution of Ganymede, but the thermal and structural effects of the impact on Ganymede’s interior have not yet been investigated at all.
“I think that in the future, more research could be done that looks at the internal evolution of icy moons.”
