Animation  of Ganymede, Io  and Jupiter

This sequence of images show the movement of Jupiter and the moons Ganymede and  Io over a period of about  30 Min.     Io is dim and to the far right.  During the animation it moves to the left as it heads behind Jupiter.  Ganymede is to the left and moving in front of Jupiter.  You can see the shadow of Ganymede at about the 5 O'clock position on Jupiter when the animation starts.   It then moves off of the planet.  Compare this animation to those showing the shadow of Io and you will note that the shadow of Ganymede is much lower on the planet.  This occurs because Ganymede orbits much further from Jupiter than Io.    Click here to go back.