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Callisto

Jupiter's heavily cratered outer Galilean moon.

Callisto is the second-largest moon of Jupiter and the third-largest in the Solar System, nearly as big as Mercury but with only about a third of its mass. It orbits Jupiter at about 1.88 million km and is the outermost Galilean moon.

Its surface is the oldest and most heavily cratered in the Solar System, with no sign of plate tectonics or volcanism.

Quick Facts

Pronounced
  • k
  • ə
  • ˈ
  • l
  • ɪ
  • s
  • t
  • oʊ (kə, LIST, oh)
Named after
Καλλιστώ Kallistō
Discoverer
Galileo Galilei; Simon Marius
Discovered
7 January 1610
Periapsis
1.869 million km
Apoapsis
1.897 million km
Inclination
2.017° (to the ecliptic); 0.192° (to local Laplace planes)
Satellite of
Jupiter

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