Andy’s Astronomy: The Planet Ganymede

By ANDY KOBER
Returning to the 1965, television series Lost in Space, another planet mentioned in the series was Ganymede, which according to the show was inhabited by crystal creatures.
There is no planet named Ganymede, but there could have been.
Ganymede is actually a moon that orbits the planet Jupiter. It is the largest moon in our Solar System, about twice as massive as Earth’s moon, and is physically larger than the planet Mercury. It is composed of silicate rock and water, and its internal ocean is thought to contain more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined. Because of that water there is the potential of life on or in Ganymede
Discovered by Galileo and Simon Marius in 1610, Ganymede is reported to have a magnetic field, a thin oxygen atmosphere, and might have an ionosphere. Spacecraft have captured images of water frost at Ganymede’s polar caps and water vapor has since been discovered in the atmosphere.
While Ganymede is not a planet, whoever the writer was for Lost in Space might have known that had Ganymede orbited the Sun instead of Jupiter, it would have been designated as a planet.
Our erstwhile amateur astronomer Ms. Lynn reports that on Apr. 6, 1965, the first commercial communications satellite was launched into geosynchronous orbit.
Named Early Bird, that satellite was constructed by the Space and Communications Group of Hughes Aircraft Company – of Howard Hughes fame.
Designed to last for 18 months, Early Bird actually lasted for over four years before being deactivated in Jan. 1969. It was reactivated in June 1969 to serve the Apollo 11 flight, and deactivated again two months later. Early Bird would be reactivated again in 1990, for a brief commemoration. Ms. Lynn notes that Early Bird remains in orbit and could possibly be utilized again if needed.
A full scale model of Early Bird has been donated to the National Air and Space Museum.
Keep your eyes on the sky for passing fireballs.
Meteors can flash across the sky anytime, day or night, and extraordinarily bright meteors are often referred to as fireballs — and they are spotted quite often.
On Saturday, Mar. 28, 29 people across Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont and West Virginia reported seeing a fireball.
The fireball was first reported at 10:55 pm by a skywatcher in Hendersonville, NC. It was seen as far north as Essex Junction, VT, as far east as Columbia, SC, as far south as Daphne, AL, and as far west as Ward, AL. In Georgia, skywatchers in Calhoun, Chatsworth, College Park, Flowery Branch, and Jasper reported seeing the fireball, which appeared to be travelling from southeast to northwest.
One person reported hearing the fireball make noise as it passed and two reported seeing it fragment into smaller pieces.
Anyone seeing a fireball is urged to report the sighting to https://amsmeteors.org/fireballs/fireball-report/
We will continue researching planets found in science fiction soon. In the meantime going outside and looking at the sky, especially the night sky, can be fun and educational for the entire family.
There are a number of free apps available to help identify stars and constellations, and some of the apps will show satellites.
Happy skywatching!