![]() It is notable for potentially having an ocean of water underneath its 15-kilometer-thick icy cover. Named after: Phoenician noblewoman, Zeus’ loverĮuropa is the smallest and smoothest of the Galilean moons.Orbital speed: 13.743 km/s (8.5 miles per second).Equatorial circumference: 9,807 km (6,093.8 miles).That’s why we see black, white, orange, yellow, and green spots over Io. Io’s silicate surface is covered with sulfur dioxide frost, dark dots of erupting volcanoes, and lava flows. What causes the moon’s unusual look? Io is the most geologically active object in the Solar System – it hosts more than 400 volcanoes. When the Voyager scientists saw Io for the first time, they described it as “moldy pizza”. Named after: priestess of Hera, Zeus’ lover.Orbital speed: 17.334 km/s (10.770 miles per second).Let's see what moons were first seen near Jupiter. The names we use now were chosen by the astronomer Simon Marius, who discovered the moons nearly at the same time as Galileo and decided to name them after the Greek mythological characters. In his notebooks, he referred to the moons as Jupiter I (Io), Jupiter II (Europa), Jupiter III (Ganymede), and Jupiter IV (Callisto). Initially, Galileo named the moons “Cosimo’s stars” (later – “Medician stars”) after his patron Cosimo Medici. Moreover, it showed the importance of a telescope for astronomical observances: Galileo could see the Jovian satellites only when he improved the design of his homemade telescope. It revealed that not all celestial bodies revolve around the Earth, contrary to the geocentric theory that was in use at that time. Only later he noticed that they were not standing still but orbiting Jupiter. Moreover, he mistook them for fixed stars. At first, he couldn’t separate Io and Europa and saw three objects instead of four. The four largest moons of Jupiter were discovered in 1610 by Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei – that’s why they are also called the Galilean moons. Who discovered the four largest Jupiter moons? The first four discovered Jovian satellites, however, were spotted back in the 17th century using a homemade telescope. Most of them are small, less than 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) in diameter, and were discovered between the 1970s and 1990s by modern automated spacecraft. So far, 79 Jupiter moons have been found astronomers may find more in the future. Ganymede: the largest moon in the Solar System.Who discovered the four largest Jupiter moons?.Which of them is the biggest in the Solar System, and which is potentially habitable? Let’s find out. ![]() The first four of them – the Galilean moons – were discovered more than 400 years ago. Being the largest planet in the Solar System, Jupiter has the second-largest number of moons. ![]()
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