Jupiter,
the largest planet in the solar system, has 67 moons and counting. Ranging
hundreds of thousands to tens of millions of kilometers away from the gas
giant, their orbits vary wildly in shape and size. The inner moons, many of
which have been imaged close-up by NASA spacecraft, have regular, circular
orbits matching the angle of Jupiter's spin.
But beyond this orderly scene lies a plethora of oddly shaped moons. Likely the remains of collisions between asteroids snatched up by Jupiter's massive gravitational pull, these moons have long, elliptical orbits that are angled in multiple directions and can take years to complete.
Source and further reading:
http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011100/a011173/
Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moons_of_Jupiter
Animation credit:NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio
http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/details.cgi?aid=3604
#jupiter #nasa #space #planetsandmoons
But beyond this orderly scene lies a plethora of oddly shaped moons. Likely the remains of collisions between asteroids snatched up by Jupiter's massive gravitational pull, these moons have long, elliptical orbits that are angled in multiple directions and can take years to complete.
Source and further reading:
http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011100/a011173/
Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moons_of_Jupiter
Animation credit:NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio
http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/details.cgi?aid=3604
#jupiter #nasa #space #planetsandmoons
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