Galilean Satellites Gallery:
Ganymede
Ganymede is the largest satellite in the Solar System, with a diameter of 5,268 km. It has lineations of dark and light material where different tectonic activity has taken place. Image: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute.
This perspective view was created by combining stereo images of the Sippar Sulcus region from both Voyager and Galileo flybys. The smallest features visible are about 350-400 metres across. Image: NASA/JPL/LPI.
A shallow surface depression, or caldera, lies in the centre of this image, formed when a large concentration of molten material collapsed, rather like deflating a balloon. Calderas may provide the source for the light coloured flow of 'slush' and liquid water. Image: NASA/JPL/Brown University.
Many constrasting terrains exist on Ganymede. The bright terrain of Arbela Sulcus is the youngest terrain here, slicing north-south across the image with a sprinkling of craters. To the east (right) is the oldest terrain in this area, given away by the numerous craters, and to the west (left) is a region of highly deformed grooved terrain, intermediate in relative age. In this area of grooved terrain, stretching and faulting has deformed it beyond recognition. Image: NASA/JPL/Brown University.
Spot the difference: On the left is a section of Ganymede and on the right, Europa. The smooth band in the Ganymede image, known as Arbela Sulcus, is one of the smoothest lanes of bright terrain identified on Ganymede, and also contains subtle striations. The band appears to disect other features, offsetting them by about 65km, suggesting that the surface of Ganymede's crust on one side of the feature may have slipped past the other. On Europa, these bands form when the crust separates, allowing material to rise up from below. Image: NASA/JPL/ Brown University.
 
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