Brooke Pierson

The planet Jupiter, our solar system’s largest object other than the Sun, is visible with the naked eye on Earth. With a fairly basic telescope, you can see its color bands and its moons. As of 2019 there are a total of 53 named moons and another 23 waiting to be officially named. Jupiter''s four largest moons, also known as the Galilean moons, are the most notable and include Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.

Io and Europa are the two most interesting and scientifically important for several reasons. Io is the most volcanically active body in the solar system due to the literal stretching of the planets solid surface during orbit around Jupiter''s massive gravity. This pulling and stretching of the crust creates heat and volcanic activity, driving away any water. Europa, on the other hand, is considered one of the smoothest surfaces in the solar system. This intrigues scientists because a smooth surface indicates a moving and reforming surface. In this case, is believed the surface is a relatively thin layer of ice and slush with water found underneath. The predominant thought is that there is twice as much water on Europa than on Earth.

These two planets really compliment each other in a musical interpretation - essentially fire and ice.


Io
This piece is designed to convey both the isolation of Io and also its aggravated geological force. On its surface volcanoes produces plumes of sulfur and sulfur dioxide. The activity of Io is due to tidal heating from the friction caused by Jupiter''s immense gravity and the other nearby satellites.

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