"We found the greatest abundance of salts and organics in the dark and bright terrains at latitudes protected by the magnetic field.""We found the greatest abundance of salts and organics in the dark and bright terrains at latitudes protected by the magnetic field."NASA's Juno space probe has detected salts and organic compounds on the surface of Ganymede, providing invaluable clues about the history of Jupiter's largest moon.
In doing so, the probe detected the signatures of hydrated sodium chloride and sodium carbonate, as well as ammoniated salts such as ammonium chloride and ammonium carbonate — plus the organic compounds. The location of these detections seems to confirm a theory that the region near the moon's equator is shielded from Jupiter's overbearing magnetic field — the most powerful of any planet in the solar system. Otherwise, without the shielding, astronomers believe the magnetic field would disrupt the formation of salts and organics on Ganymede.