12 New Moons Discovered Orbiting Jupiter

Jupiter, the largest planet in our Solar System, has just added 12 new moons to its collection, bringing its total number of moons to 92 and solidifying its position as the planet with the most moons. The discovery of these new moons was made by Dr. Scott Sheppard, who has spent the past few years tracking their orbits and mapping the Jovian system. The findings have now been published by the Minor Planet Center.

The 12 new moons discovered around Jupiter can be divided into two groups: the first group consists of nine moons located among the distant retrograde clusters, while the second group consists of three moons located among the groups of prograde satellites. All of these mini moons take over 340 days to complete one orbit around Jupiter and are too small to warrant an official name. They are believed to be the remnants of larger satellites that shattered millions of years ago as a result of collisions with other objects.

New Moons Jupiter
The orbits of Jupiter’s moons. The larger, prograde Galilean moons are depicted in purple, with the Himalia group in blue and Carpo in cyan. The green orbit represents Valetudo, while the outer retrograde moons appear in red. Image credit: Scott Sheppard

Jupiter’s newfound collection of moons offers a unique glimpse into the history of our Solar System and provides insights into the evolution of the Jovian system. The discovery of these moons highlights the ongoing efforts of astronomers to unlock the mysteries of our Solar System and continue to discover new celestial bodies that exist within it.

Despite this impressive discovery, it is believed that there may be even more moons around Jupiter that have yet to be detected. This is due to the challenges in spotting small celestial bodies and the intense glare from Jupiter, which makes it difficult to spot them even with extremely powerful telescopes. Nevertheless, the ongoing efforts of astronomers to discover and map the Jovian system will likely lead to more exciting discoveries in the future.

In conclusion, the discovery of these 12 new moons around Jupiter is a significant contribution to our understanding of the Solar System and the history of our universe. These new additions to Jupiter’s collection of moons offer a unique glimpse into the evolution of the Jovian system and provide a glimpse into the ongoing efforts of astronomers to unlock the mysteries of our Solar System.


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12 New Moons Discovered Orbiting Jupiter

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