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Origin of the Ganymede–Callisto dichotomy by impacts during the late heavy bombardment - Nature Geoscience

  • ️Canup, Robin M.
  • ️Sun Jan 24 2010

Abstract

Jupiter’s large moons Ganymede1,2 and Callisto2,3 are similar in size and composition. However, Ganymede has a tectonically evolved surface1 and a large rock/metal core2, whereas Callisto’s surface shows no sign of resurfacing3 and the separation of ice and rock in its interior seems incomplete2. These differences have been difficult to explain4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11. Here we present geophysical models of impact-induced core formation to show that the Ganymede–Callisto dichotomy can be explained through differences in the energy received during a brief period of frequent planetary impacts about 700 million years after planet formation, termed the late heavy bombardment12,13,14,15. We propose that during the late heavy bombardment, impacts would have been sufficiently energetic on Ganymede to lead to a complete separation of rock and ice, but not on Callisto. In our model, a dichotomy between Ganymede and Callisto that is consistent with observations is created if the planetesimal disk that supplied the cometary impactors during the late heavy bombardment is about 5–30 times the mass of the Earth. Our findings are consistent with estimates of a disk about 20 times the mass of the Earth as used in dynamical models that recreate the present-day architecture of the outer solar system and the lunar late heavy bombardment15,16.

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Acknowledgements

A.C.B. and R.M.C. are grateful to NASA’s Planetary Geology and Geophysics programme. We thank H. Levison, D. Nesvorný, O. Barnouin-Jha and E. Pierazzo for useful discussions, V. Mlinar and R. Citron for comments on draft manuscripts and W. B. Tonks for helpful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Space Studies; Center for Lunar Origin and Evolution, Southwest Research Institute,

    Amy C. Barr & Robin M. Canup

  2. Center for Lunar Origin and Evolution, Southwest Research Institute, 1050 Walnut St, Suite 300, Boulder, Colorado 80302, USA

    Amy C. Barr & Robin M. Canup

Authors

  1. Amy C. Barr

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  2. Robin M. Canup

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Contributions

A.C.B. and R.M.C. formulated the model; A.C.B. carried out the calculations, and A.C.B. and R.M.C. jointly interpreted the results.

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Correspondence to Amy C. Barr.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Barr, A., Canup, R. Origin of the Ganymede–Callisto dichotomy by impacts during the late heavy bombardment. Nature Geosci 3, 164–167 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo746

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  • Received: 03 August 2009

  • Accepted: 04 December 2009

  • Published: 24 January 2010

  • Issue Date: March 2010

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo746

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