Jupiter’s moons could keep each other warm by raising tidal waves

Gravitational kneading from the mammoth planet is not the satellites’ only source of heat

Photos of the four largest moons of Jupiter

Gravitational forces from Jupiter’s four largest moons (from left: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto) push and pull on each other’s insides, helping to keep the interiors sloshy, a study suggests.

JPL-Caltech/NASA, DLR

It takes a certain amount of heat to keep an ocean wet.