Compilation / Li Wanhong
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, with a total of 80 satellites, second only to Saturn, which has 83 satellites. American astronomers announced the latest discovery that there are 12 new satellites around Jupiter, bringing the total number of Jupiter’s satellites to 92, surpassing Saturn and regaining the throne of the planet with the most satellites in the solar system.
In 2021 and 2022, American astronomers observed several satellites through telescopes located in Hawaii and Chile, and reported to the Minor Planet Center of the International Astronomical Union. Immediately followingwards, astronomers conducted investigations on the above observations to confirm that satellite orbits indeed circle Jupiter. Recently, these 12 new satellites were confirmed by astronomers.
Scott Carnegie, a member of the Carnegie Institution for Science observation team. Scott Sheppard, who posted the discovery online.
new satellite orbit days
Sheppard told the Associated Press that the moons range in diameter from 0.6 miles (regarding 1 kilometer) to 2 miles (regarding 3.2 kilometers). Yet moons are not named until they are at least 1 mile in diameter, and only half of them meet this criterion.
And the time for these satellites to orbit Jupiter is much longer than the moon orbits the earth. “Sky & Telescope” magazine reported that all the newly discovered moons orbit Jupiter in more than 340 days, and nine of them take at least 550 days. By comparison, the Moon orbits Earth in regarding 27 days, according to NASA.
eight planetsHow many satellites are there?
This discovery brought the total number of satellites of Jupiter to 92, making it the planet with the most satellites in the solar system. Combined with NASA’s data (NASA officials have not yet confirmed the newly discovered satellites of Jupiter), plus the newly discovered satellites, the number of satellites owned by the planets in the solar system are respectively 0 for Mercury and Venus, 1 for Earth, 2 for Mars, and 2 for Jupiter 92, Saturn 83, Uranus 27, Neptune 14.
Sheppard, who has participated in the observation of Jupiter and Saturn’s satellites in the past, believes that there are more moons around Jupiter and Saturn that have not yet been observed. Both planets have small moons, he said. They believe the moons were once larger, but collided with space junk such as asteroids to become what they are today.
Jupiter satellite mission
The European Space Agency (ESA) will launch Jupiter’s “Icy Moons Explorer” in April to detect Jupiter and Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, three satellites with liquid water oceans. The goal is Summarize the characteristics of these moons as “planetary objects and possible habitable places”.
NASA plans to launch the “Europa Clipper” in October 2024 to observe Jupiter and Europa. The moon is thought to have a crust of water ice containing twice as much water as Earth, and there is evidence of an ocean or half-melt ice beneath the crust. The research goal of this mission is to confirm whether Europa is suitable for life. ◇
