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The Galilean moons are by far the largest and most massive objects to orbit Jupiter, with the remaining 91 known moons and the rings together comprising just 0.003% of the total orbiting mass. Of Jupiter 's moons, eight are regular satellites with prograde and nearly circular orbits that are not greatly inclined with respect to Jupiter's ...
A well-known feature of Jupiter is the Great Red Spot, [103] a persistent anticyclonic storm located 22° south of the equator. It was first observed in 1831, [ 104 ] and possibly as early as 1665. [ 105 ] [ 106 ] Images by the Hubble Space Telescope have shown two more "red spots" adjacent to the Great Red Spot.
The Galilean moons are named after Galileo Galilei, who observed them in either December 1609 or January 1610, and recognized them as satellites of Jupiter in March 1610; [2] they remained the only known moons of Jupiter until the discovery of the fifth largest moon of Jupiter Amalthea in 1892. [3]
For nine years, a spacecraft known as the Juno orbiter has divided its time between observing the gas giant of Jupiter and studying its moons, including Io. And on its third flyby of the celestial ...
Jupiter has surpassed Saturn with the record for the planet with the most moons in our solar system. The gas giant has a total of 92 confirmed moons, according to new observations by astronomers.
Metis / ˈ m iː t ə s /, also known as Jupiter XVI, is the innermost known moon of Jupiter. It was discovered in 1979 in images taken by Voyager 1 , and was named in 1983 after the Titaness Metis , the first wife of Zeus and the mother of Athena .
Io (/ ˈ aɪ. oʊ /), or Jupiter I, is the innermost and second-smallest of the four Galilean moons of the planet Jupiter.Slightly larger than Earth's moon, Io is the fourth-largest moon in the Solar System, has the highest density of any moon, the strongest surface gravity of any moon, and the lowest amount of water by atomic ratio of any known astronomical object in the Solar System.
It has the third-closest orbit around Jupiter among known moons and was the fifth moon of Jupiter to be discovered, so it is also known as Jupiter V. It is also the fifth-largest moon of Jupiter, after the four Galilean moons. Edward Emerson Barnard discovered the moon on 9 September 1892 and named it after Amalthea of Greek mythology. [10]