July 12, 1996
The Earth has carried you around the Sun again, steady as ever, while the stars kept their patient watch.
Ancient Cratered Plains on Ganymede
Birthday · July 12, 1996
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published July 12, 1996. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
The largest moon in the Solar System shows regions that are ancient and battered. The high density of craters demonstrate that patches of Ganymede are indeed billions of years old. This photo is one of a series released by NASA two days ago from the Galileo spacecraft orbiting Jupiter. The large impact crater on the left is 19 kilometers across, while dark indentations in Ganymede's crusty surface-ice run diagonally. Ganymede is composed of half rock and half water-ice. The Galileo spacecraft will continue to orbit Jupiter over the next 16 months and send back data about Jupiter and its four largest moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. APOD's Archive of Galileo at Ganymede