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In this view, the colours are enhanced to reveal Ganymede's frosty polar caps. Many craters with diameters up to several dozen kilometres are visible. The violet hues at the poles may be the result of small particles of frost, which would scatter more light at shorter wavelengths (the violet end of the spectrum).
Ganymede's magnetic field, which was detected by the magnetometer on Galileo, may be partly responsible for the appearance of the polar terrain. Compared to Earth's polar caps, Ganymede's polar terrain is vast. The frost on Ganymede reaches latitudes as low as 40 degrees on average and 25 degrees at some locations. For comparison with Earth, Miami lies at 26 degrees north latitude, and Berlin is located at 52 degrees north.
Also see: A Historic Visit
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