Moon of Jupiter · Solar System

Ganymede

Above the horizon after darkHighest after dark 05:17 · east · 28°

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Where is Ganymede?

Times for LondonChange city

Look east, about 28° up at 05:17 in Leo. It rises at 02:09 and climbs through the night.

Rises: 02:09
Highest: 09:32
Sets: 16:59
Best after dark: 05:17 · 28°

Can I see Ganymede tonight?

Ganymede always stays within a small fraction of a degree of Jupiter, so its position tonight is Jupiter’s position.

From London tonight, Ganymede is above the horizon after dark. It’s highest just before dawn, around 05:17, in the east at 28°.

This is position and timing only: clouds, haze and light pollution aren’t included.

What does Ganymede look like?

Eyes

Lost in Jupiter’s glare.

Binoculars

Usually the brightest of the star-like points beside Jupiter.

Telescope

A bright point, sometimes showing a tiny disk at high magnification in large telescopes. Its shadow on Jupiter is easy to see when it transits.

What you’re likely to see, not what a space telescope photographs.

About Ganymede

Ganymede is the largest moon in the Solar System, wider than the planet Mercury. It is the only moon known to have its own magnetic field.

Its surface is a mix of dark, ancient cratered regions and younger, lighter areas crossed by grooves. Like Europa, it is thought to hide a deep ocean of salty water beneath its icy crust.

Ganymede is usually the brightest of Jupiter’s four large moons. The European Space Agency’s JUICE mission is on its way to Jupiter and is planned to end its mission in orbit around Ganymede.

Ganymede’s magnetic field was discovered by the Galileo spacecraft in the 1990s. Later, Hubble observations of auroras on Ganymede, which rock back and forth less than expected, added strong evidence for a salty ocean deep beneath its surface.

Ganymede takes about a week to orbit Jupiter and is locked in a rhythm with Io and Europa: for each of its orbits, Europa completes two and Io four. In a telescope, the large, dark shadow Ganymede casts on Jupiter is one of the easiest moon shadows to see.

Jupiter and its moons

Questions

Is Ganymede bigger than Mercury?

Yes, it is wider, though Mercury has about twice its mass.

Can I see Ganymede with binoculars?

Yes. It is typically the easiest of Jupiter’s moons to spot.

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Sources: SkyMate; star chart: Wikidata (CC0). Positions computed for your place and time with astronomy-engine. Data & Licences