Jupiter’s moon Ganymede

Photo courtesy of NASA.

Today’s picture features a moon, but not the one that we’re all used to seeing when we gaze up at the night sky from planet earth. This is Ganymede, one of the 63 moons known to be in orbit around the planet Jupiter. Bigger even than the planet Mercury, Ganymede is the largest moon in our solar system. In fact, it could easily be a planet in its own right if it revolved around the sun instead of another planet.

The amazing Galileo Spacecraft captured this image of Ganymede during its 8 year orbit of Jupiter. Galileo and a number of other unmanned spacecraft have brought us glimpses of our solar system that we otherwise might never have been able to enjoy from the confines of planet earth, and someday they just might ”take” our grandchildren to the far reaches of the universe. Quite capable and utterly fearless, our robotic explorers cover distances that the human mind cannot even begin to comprehend, in the process expanding our knowledge about God’s vast creations as we humans remain firmly (and safely) planted back home on earth.