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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 ...
Jupiter has 95 known natural satellites, [198] and it is likely that this number would go up due to improved instrumentation. [199] Of these, 79 are less than 10 km in diameter. [ 7 ] The four largest moons, known as the Galilean moons , are Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa (in order of decreasing size), and are visible from Earth with ...
The first known natural satellite was the Moon, but it was considered a "planet" until Copernicus' introduction of De revolutionibus orbium coelestium in 1543. Until the discovery of the Galilean satellites in 1610 there was no opportunity for referring to such objects as a class.
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. Rings of Jupiter; Complete list of Jupiter's natural satellites. Galilean moons. Io; Europa; Ganymede; Callisto; Jupiter trojans; Jupiter-crossing minor ...
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]
As of 2024, Jupiter has 95 confirmed satellites, which can roughly be sorted into three groups: The Amalthea group, consisting of Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, and Thebe. They orbit substantially closer to Jupiter than other satellites. [172] Materials from these natural satellites are the source of Jupiter's faint ring. [173]
NASA's Juno spacecraft captured this view of Jupiter during the mission's 54th close flyby of the giant planet Sept. 7, 2023.
A montage of Jupiter and its four largest moons (distance and sizes not to scale) There are 95 moons of Jupiter with confirmed orbits as of 5 February 2024. [1] [note 1] This number does not include a number of meter-sized moonlets thought to be shed from the inner moons, nor hundreds of possible kilometer-sized outer irregular moons that were only briefly captured by telescopes. [4]