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Seeing jupiter through a telescope8/22/2023 ![]() ![]() If it orbited the Sun instead ofJupiter it would be classified as a planet. Its ancient history is evident by having the most crateredsurface of any moon in the solar system. Its crust dates back 4 billion years,just shortly after the solar system was formed. Whereas Io has the youngest surface in theSolar System, Callisto has the oldest. (Image credit:NASA)Ĭallisto is the second largest moon of Jupiter and is aboutthe same size as the planet Mercury. ![]() Io’s geology is so active because thepoor little moon is stretched and squeezed by the gravity of Jupiter and theother outer Galilean moons, heating and melting its surface. Looking like a messy pizza, its orange-yellow surfaceis covered in sulfur-belching volcanoes and lava lakes. Io the innermost Galilean moon, is perhaps the most amazingmoon in the solar system. What do we know about the moons ofJupiter now? Themost significant mission, fittingly named Galileo, studied Jupiter and itsmoons for eight years between 19. The Jovian system, comprisingthe four Galilean and (at last count) 23 smaller moons, has been visited byseven space probes since1973. ![]() The moons of Jupiter areseen today as unique worlds in their own right. If you requested more thanone image of Jupiter’s Moons, you can combinethe images into an animation to see how the moons move. Inthe archive image above, the planet itself looks smeared out because it isoverexposed to show the fainter moons, Can you see the positions of the moonschange with respect to Jupiter? The inner moons move in their orbits faster, so they will show more of achange. Howdo the Moons of Jupiter appear in your images taken by MicroObservatory? To seethe images in more detail, you may want to open your image in our MicroObservatoryimage processing software. Notice that the planetitself is over-exposed to show the fainter moons. Although not proof thatthe Earth moved, it was one significant piece of evidence that would help pavethe way for acceptance of a heliocentric (Sun-centered) universe.Ībove : MicroObservatory image of Jupiter’smoons. Galileo, a supporter of the Sun-centered universe, could now counterthat argument: If Jupiter can moveand take its moons with it, then surely the Earth can carry its Moon throughspace as well. If the Earth moved,wouldn’t it leave the Moon behind? (Remember, this is before we had anunderstanding of gravity). Does the Sun move around a stationaryEarth, or does the Earth, as simply another planet, move around a stationarySun? Neither camp had any hardevidence to back its case, but the Earth-centered supporters had a strongargument. Was the Earth or the Sun thecenter of the Universe? The debatewas raging in the first decade of the 17 th century. The existence of four newworlds was amazing in itself, but the discovery would help bring about arevolution in astronomy and our understanding of the cosmos. As he continued to studyJupiter on successive nights, Galileo came to the realization that these four pointsof light were not background stars, but mini planets orbiting aroundJupiter. The next nightwas cloudy, but on the 10 th, he saw a fourth star in the sameline. There were the three stars, but now in different positions relative tothe planet itself. The next night Galileodecided to check in on Jupiter again. Image Credit: Octavo Corp./WarnockLibrary) ( Ori means Orient, or East, Occ Occident, or West). Some of hisoriginal sketches are below.Ībove : Galileo’s sketches of the moons ofJupiter made on the nights of February 3 and 4, 1610. Galileo sketched Jupiter and the threestars, thinking at first they were simply a chance alignment. What caught his eye was not the planet itself, but three brightstars that were arranged in a perfect line on either side of the planet. On JanuGalileofirst viewed Jupiter through his telescope. ![]()
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