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→Resonating orbits
== Resonating orbits ==
== Resonating orbits ==
[[Image:Galilean moon Laplace resonance animation.gif|thumb|150 px|left|Orbital resonance of Io, Europa, and Ganymede]]The inner three of the Galilean moons ([[Io]], [[Europa]], and [[Ganymede]]) participate in a complex [[orbital resonance]] or Laplace resonance. These three satellites complete their orbits around Jupiter in the ratio 1:2:4. They also conjoin with one another at their apsides, in a mutually self-correcting manner that allows the resonance to persist. (Most such resonances are unstable and end with one or all bodies changing their orbits.)
[[Image:Galilean moon Laplace resonance animation.gif|thumb|150 px|left|Orbital resonance of Io, Europa, and Ganymede]]The inner three of the Galilean moons ([[Io]], [[Europa (moon)|Europa]], and [[Ganymede]]) participate in a complex [[orbital resonance]] or Laplace resonance. These three satellites complete their orbits around Jupiter in the ratio 1:2:4. They also conjoin with one another at their apsides, in a mutually self-correcting manner that allows the resonance to persist. (Most such resonances are unstable and end with one or all bodies changing their orbits.)
According to the most currently popular models of this resonance, [[Ganymede]]'s orbit should not be as eccentric as it now is. Others have suggested that an [[asteroid]]al or [[comet]]ary impact has produced this eccentricity, but Showman and Malhotra, in 1997, showed that such an impact cannot account for the observed eccentricity.<ref name=Showman>Showman, Adam P., and Malhotra, Renu. "[http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~showman/publications/showman-malhotra-1997.pdf Tidal Evolution into the Laplace Resonance and the Resurfacing of Ganymede]." ''Icarus'', 127:93-111, 1997. Accessed February 18, 2008.</ref>
According to the most currently popular models of this resonance, [[Ganymede]]'s orbit should not be as eccentric as it now is. Others have suggested that an [[asteroid]]al or [[comet]]ary impact has produced this eccentricity, but Showman and Malhotra, in 1997, showed that such an impact cannot account for the observed eccentricity.<ref name=Showman>Showman, Adam P., and Malhotra, Renu. "[http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~showman/publications/showman-malhotra-1997.pdf Tidal Evolution into the Laplace Resonance and the Resurfacing of Ganymede]." ''Icarus'', 127:93-111, 1997. Accessed February 18, 2008.</ref>