Amalthea

Why in news?

• According to recent findings, Amalthea appears to radiate out more heat than it receives from the sun, which NASA suggests may be due to Jupiter’s magnetic field or tidal stresses.

What is Amalthea?

• The moon Amalthea is one of Jupiter’s 53 named satellites.
• It was the first to be discovered after the four Galilean moons, and it is the fifth-largest overall.
• In terms of proximity to Jupiter, Amalthea is the planet’s third moon — it takes just 12 hours to make a full orbit.
• Amalthea also contributes to one of the Gossamer Rings of Jupiter — the Amalthea Gossamer Ring — which is the faint innermost Gossamer ring of the planet.
• The Gossamer Rings are outside the main Jovian ring.

Major missions to Amalthea

• Only two missions have visited Amalthea: Voyager and Galileo.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Amalthea, recently seen in news, is a moon of:

(a) Mars

(b) Jupiter

(c) Saturn

(d) Venus

Answer