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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 ...
Europa (Jupiter II), the second of the four Galilean moons, is the second closest to Jupiter and the smallest at 3121.6 kilometers in diameter, which is slightly smaller than Earth's Moon. The name comes from a mythical Phoenician noblewoman, Europa , who was courted by Zeus and became the queen of Crete , though the name did not become widely ...
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.
That mission, which is slated to end in September 2025, also extends to Jupiter's rings and many moons. Juno’s trajectory passes by Io every other orbit, flying over the same part of the moon ...
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.
The sizes and masses of many of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn are fairly well known due to numerous observations and interactions of the Galileo and Cassini orbiters; however, many of the moons with a radius less than ~100 km, such as Jupiter's Himalia, have far less certain masses. [5]
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 ...
There are 293 confirmed moons in our cosmic neighborhood. By studying these worlds, astronomers hope to learn about ancient asteroid collisions, space volcanoes, and the origins of life itself.