Moons - Phil Dixon Composer

Phil Dixon
Composer
Title
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'Moons' for Cello and Piano

In five movements

Each movement represents a Galilean moon of Jupiter

Cello - Brian Mullen
Piano - Claire Alsop
I. Io
With over 400 volcanoes, Io is the most volcanically active object in the solar system. Jupiter's huge gravity stretches and squeezes little Io, heating up the core.
II. Europa
Europa is the smoothest object in our solar system. The smooth surface is made of fresh ice that is thought to be constantly replenished by geysers from a liquid ocean beneath. Scientists have speculated that there may be extra-terrestrial life in this sub-surface ocean, similar to Earth's deep ocean hydro-thermal vents.
Ganymede is the largest satellite in the solar system and is even bigger than the planet Mercury, yet it has half it's mass, being made mostly of ice. It has a huge, slow orbit that affects Io and Europa and is the only satellite known to have its own magnetosphere

Callisto orbits far from Jupiter so has no influence with the other three. It is the most heavily cratered object in the solar system, one such crater, 3000km (1864 miles, roughly Bristol to Moscow) wide is called Valhalla. Callisto has been cited as a base for human exploration as it is far enough away from Jupiter's destructive gravitational and magnetic forces.

The intertwining relationship between the moons as they fly past each other.

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