Natural
colour view of Ganymede from the Galileo spacecraft during its first encounter
with the satellite. North is to the top of the picture and the sun illuminates
the surface from the right. The dark areas are the older, more heavily cratered
regions and the light areas are younger, tectonically deformed regions.
The brownish-gray colour is due to mixtures of rocky materials and ice.
Bright spots are geologically recent impact craters and their ejecta. The
finest details that can be discerned in this picture are about 13.4 kilometers
across. The images which combine for this colour image were taken beginning
at Universal Time 8:46:04 UT on June 26, 1996. |
 |
The
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office
of Space Science, Washington , DC. |
|