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All together, Jupiter's moons form a satellite system called the Jovian system. The most massive of the moons are the four Galilean moons : Io , Europa , Ganymede , and Callisto , which were independently discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei and Simon Marius and were the first objects found to orbit a body that was neither Earth nor the Sun .
The largest, Ganymede, is the largest moon in the Solar System and surpasses the planet Mercury in size (though not mass). Callisto is only slightly smaller than Mercury in size; the smaller ones, Io and Europa, are about the size of the Moon. The three inner moons — Io, Europa, and Ganymede — are in a 4:2:1 orbital resonance with
Irregular moons are probably minor planets that have been captured from surrounding space. Most irregular moons are less than 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) in diameter. The earliest published discovery of a moon other than Earth's was by Galileo Galilei, who discovered the four Galilean moons orbiting Jupiter in 1610. Over the following three ...
The adjectival forms of the names of astronomical bodies are not always easily predictable. Attested adjectival forms of the larger bodies are listed below, along with the two small Martian moons; in some cases they are accompanied by their demonymic equivalents, which denote hypothetical inhabitants of these bodies.
Montage of planets and some moons that the two Voyager spacecraft have visited and studied. It is the only program that visited all four outer planets. A total of nine spacecraft have been launched on missions that involve visits to the outer planets; all nine missions involve encounters with Jupiter, with four spacecraft also visiting Saturn.
Asteroids number in the hundreds of thousands. For longer lists, see list of exceptional asteroids, list of asteroids, or list of Solar System objects by size. Asteroid moons; A number of smaller groups distinct from the asteroid belt; The outer Solar System with the giant planets, their satellites, trojan asteroids and some minor planets. Jupiter
The numbers initially designated the moons in orbital sequence, and were re-numbered after each new discovery; for instance, before the discovery of Mimas and Enceladus in 1789, Tethys was Saturn I, Dione Saturn II, etc., [28] but after the new moons were discovered, Mimas became Saturn I, Enceladus Saturn II, Tethys Saturn III and Dione Saturn IV.
The Europa Clipper is a NASA mission that will focus on studying Jupiter's moon Europa. [69] It was launched on 14 October 2024, [70] and will enter Jovian orbit after a 5.5-year cruise and gravity assists by Mars and Earth. The spacecraft would fly by Europa at least an intended 49 times to minimize radiation damage.