| Jupiter is the largest of all Jovian planets and also the largest in our solar system. Compared to the Sun, the mass of Jupiter is about one thousandth of our parent Star. Planet Jupiter has two and a half times more mass than the combined mass of all the other planets in the solar system. With such phenomenal amount of mass concentrated within, the gravitational pull of Jupiter is very high. No small object can escape the gravitational pull of Jupiter within its domain. That may be the reason why Jupiter has the largest number of satellites or moons orbiting it. If you are curious about how many moons does Jupiter have, keep reading ahead. In this article I present the names of Moons of Jupiter that are imprisoned by its gravity, to rotate around in its orbits for almost an eternity!
Moons of Jupiter
The total number of Moons of Jupiter is 63! Among all the planets in our solar system, Jupiter has the largest family of satellites. These satellites include the four ‘Galilean Moons’ that are the largest of the 63. About 99.997% of the orbiting mass around Jupiter is concentrated in the four large Galilean moons, while the rest (0.003%) of mass is distributed among the rings and smaller satellites. Here are the names of moons of Jupiter. First four are the Galilean moons which are followed by the rest.IoEuropaGanymedeCallistoMetisAdrasteaAmaltheaThebeThemistoLedaHimaliaLysitheaElaraS/2000 J 11S/2003 J 12CarpoEuporieS/2003 J 3S/2003 J 18ThelxinoeEuantheHelikeOrthosieIocasteS/2003 J 16PraxidikeHarpalykeMnemeThyoneHermippeAnankeAitneHerseKaleTaygeteS/2003 J 19ChaldeneS/2003 J 15S/2003 J 10S/2003 J 23AoedeErinomeKallichoreCarmeKalykeCallirrhoeEurydomePasitheeKoreCylleneEukeladeS/2003 J 4Pasipha?ArcheHegemoneIsonoeS/2003 J 9S/2003 J 5SpondeSinopeAutonoeMegacliteS/2003 J 2So now you know how many moons does Jupiter have! It is three score and three or sixty three, which makes it one of the most striking Jupiter facts! Among these satellites, some have yet not been named and are therefore known by an alpha numeric code. Some of them have even gone missing after first detection! It is believed that Jupiter might have had many more satellites in the past, which have now been destroyed to form Jupiter’s thin ring.
Eight of these satellites are regular and have a prograde motion (they orbit in the same direction as the planet rotation). By regular, we mean that these planets have orbits close to Jupiter and have a low inclination with respect to Jupiter’s equatorial radius. These may be Jupiter’s satellites that formed ‘in situ’ along with the planet, while the rest might be captured satellites. The rest of the 55 satellites are irregular, in the sense that they have retrograde (orbit in the opposite direction of Jupiter’s rotation) and prograde orbits of very high eccentricity and inclination from the Jupiter’s equatorial diameter. While the largest four of the satellites were discovered by one of the pioneers of modern astronomy, Galileo Galilei in 1610, the rest were discovered much later with terrestrial telescopes and space probes.
The largest of all 63 moons is Ganymede, with a diameter of 3,270 miles, which makes it even more larger than Mercury. The rest of the three Galilean moons have a diameter of more than 1,900 miles. All these four satellites are spheroidal in shape largely because of the high tidal gravitational pull of Jupiter. Besides these big four satellites, the rest are less than 160 miles in diameter, with majority of them having a diameter around 3.1 miles. You might also like to know how many moons does Saturn have compared to Jupiter.
Now you know how many Moons does Jupiter have. Most of these satellites or moons have been captured by the planet due to its high gravitational pull. Future space exploration initiatives will be aimed at studying the Galilean moon Europa, which has been found to have conditions favorable for emergence of life. Jupiter’s family of moons may have many more secrets waiting to be revealed!