What are the Galilean moons of the planet Jupiter?

Born in Pisa, Italy in 1564, Galileo Galilei is known as the father of modern astronomy. Galileo pointed his binoculars at the sky, was able to observe sunspots, details on the moon, discovered new stars, for example Galilean satellitesand should also be condemned for confirming Nicolaus Copernicus’ Theory of Heliocentrism.

Among the stars Galileo observed are: Io, Europa, Callisto and Ganymede, largest moons on the planet Jupiter currently has at least 79 natural satellites already observed by scientists.

While observing the planet Jupiter in 1610, Galileo observed three accompanying bodies aligned in an almost straight line. Initially, the astronomer thought they were stars. As he watched, however, he noticed that these objects were moving and from time to time a fourth object was approaching.

Galileo Galilei names these satellites named “Medici Moons” in honor of the famous Medici family. moon Separately with Roman numerals I, II, III and IV, but this did not last long.

The names we know today were given by the German astronomer Simon Marius (1573-1625), who claimed to have discovered the Earth. Months Before Galileo, in 1609. The names proposed to him by the scientist Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) correspond to the mistresses of Zeus.

Despite Marius’ assertion, Galileo was quicker to publish his observations, which gave him credit for the discovery. In fact, who was the first to make the observations? We will never know.

Let’s learn more about the Galilean moons below.

io

Io is the fourth largest moon and the most volcanically active celestial body in the solar system. And galilee bear It is considered a young moon due to the absence of craters on its surface, which is closest to Jupiter and is colored with different shades of sulfur. The volcanic activity of the planet is caused by the tidal effect. The force that Jupiter exerts on Io is enormous, causing elevations in the crust of the Galilean moon. This movement ends up producing heat that ignites Io’s volcanoes.

Europe

Europa is the second closest moon to Jupiter and the smallest of the four. Galilean satellites. It is believed that there is liquid water under the 100-meter-thick layer of ice. For researchers, Europa is intriguing, as this moon is likely to be habitable. They also estimate that there is twice as much water on this satellite as on Earth.

Ganymede

Jupiter’s third moon is the largest natural satellite in our Solar System. Even with twice the mass, the planet Mercury is smaller than Ganymede. But this galilee bear It is surprising for another reason. To date, Ganymede is the only natural satellite capable of producing an internally generated magnetic field.

kalisto

The third largest moon in our Solar System, Ganymede, which keeps them in a seemingly straight line, does not participate in the resonance between Io and Europa. Callisto is the star Galileo saw approaching in his later observations, and is the fourth moon in his notes. The main features of Callisto are a cratered surface and a more than 3,000-kilometer-wide basin called Valhalla.

Visits to Galilean moons

The Jupiter system has already been visited several times. In 1973 and 1974 it was visited by the extraplanetary probes Pioneers 10 and Pioneers 11, which provided more general color images of Jupiter.

In 1979 the system was visited by the spacecraft Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, which photographed the planet and its Galilean moons, providing color images with excellent resolution for the period.

The Galileo spacecraft, named in honor of Galileo Galilei, remained in orbit of Jupiter for 8 years (1995-2003), collecting data on orbits and making images of the planet and its planet. Months. Thanks to this mission, we now learn about volcanoes and Io, among many other discoveries, about the possibility of finding water in Europa, Ganymede’s magnetic field.

NASA is currently planning a new mission to the Jupiter system. The mission, called Europa Clipper, must study the moon to confirm theories about the presence of water towards the Moon and the possibility of life-supporting conditions.

hour Galilean satellites It is a demonstration of colors, shapes, and compositions. They are unique and form a dance in the skies. Now we have to wait for new discoveries with Clipper Mission.