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Description
Being Jupiter is the largest, most extreme and dynamic planet in our solar system, it's only natural it would have three of the most active and unique moons as well. I.O. (bottom-right) with the tidal forces of the gravitational interactions between Jupiter and the other moons stretching and squeezing the crust to the point that most of the surface is covered in active volcanoes that spew hot sulfur compounds out into space, Europa (center-left), with similar tidal forces causing its thick ice shell to crack and shift like glaciers on Earth, with a massive reservoir of chemical-rich water underneath that occasionally leaks out of those cracks to produce spectacular jets of water vapor and snow (like Saturn's moon Enceladus, just not nearly as frequently and regularly), and Ganymede (top-left), who holds the heavyweight title of largest moon in the solar system, likely ALSO has vast resevoirs of liquid water under its thick layers of ice, AND has the unique honor of being the only moon in our solar system to have its own magnetic field, strong enough to occasionally produce auroras at the poles as it interacts with the solar wind and Jupiter's colossal magnetic field and deadly radiation belts. (Honestly for all these reasons I'm surprised more people in the scientific community don't talk about Ganymede when discussing possible terraforming locations. Water, relatively high mass, complex organics, protective magnetosphere...all things most other popular targets lack.)

I didn't include Callisto because as far as we know so far it's just a cold, inactive ball of ice and rock. Who knows though, maybe more missions to the Jovian system will turn up some interesting secrets that battered, dark, lonely moon is hiding.

Also I know this is kind of an unseasonable thing to post right before the holidays, but time's running out and I wanted to give you guys SOMETHING before I go offline for over a week. XD

Description
Being Jupiter is the largest, most extreme and dynamic planet in our solar system, it's only natural it would have three of the most active and unique moons as well. I.O. (bottom-right) with the tidal forces of the gravitational interactions between Jupiter and the other moons stretching and squeezing the crust to the point that most of the surface is covered in active volcanoes that spew hot sulfur compounds out into space, Europa (center-left), with similar tidal forces causing its thick ice shell to crack and shift like glaciers on Earth, with a massive reservoir of chemical-rich water underneath that occasionally leaks out of those cracks to produce spectacular jets of water vapor and snow (like Saturn's moon Enceladus, just not nearly as frequently and regularly), and Ganymede (top-left), who holds the heavyweight title of largest moon in the solar system, likely ALSO has vast resevoirs of liquid water under its thick layers of ice, AND has the unique honor of being the only moon in our solar system to have its own magnetic field, strong enough to occasionally produce auroras at the poles as it interacts with the solar wind and Jupiter's colossal magnetic field and deadly radiation belts. (Honestly for all these reasons I'm surprised more people in the scientific community don't talk about Ganymede when discussing possible terraforming locations. Water, relatively high mass, complex organics, protective magnetosphere...all things most other popular targets lack.)

I didn't include Callisto because as far as we know so far it's just a cold, inactive ball of ice and rock. Who knows though, maybe more missions to the Jovian system will turn up some interesting secrets that battered, dark, lonely moon is hiding.

Also I know this is kind of an unseasonable thing to post right before the holidays, but time's running out and I wanted to give you guys SOMETHING before I go offline for over a week. XD