12 new moons orbiting Jupiter have been discovered. (File)
Astronomers have discovered 12 new moons of Jupiter, bringing the total number of natural satellites orbiting the Gas Giant to 92. Now, Jupiter, the largest planet in the Solar System, has a count. the most moon, according to Sky and Telescope.
The findings were reported by astronomer Scott S. Sheppard from the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington DC, who observed the planet from 2021 to 2022. The Alliance’s Minor Planet Center (MPC) The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has announced the orbit of the new moon.
Prior to this discovery, Saturn had the largest family of moons with 83 confirmed natural satellites orbiting it.
According to the US space agency NASA, there are many interesting moons around Jupiter but the first four discovered outside Earth are of most scientific interest. These four moons are known as the Galilean Moons – lo, Europa, Callisto and Ganymede.
Now, dozens more satellites have been discovered around Jupiter. These newly discovered moons are smaller than the planet’s other giant moons and take more than 340 days to orbit Jupiter. The report adds that nine of them have larger orbital periods of 550 days and are among Jupiter’s 71 outermost moons.
Three of Jupiter’s new moons are among those that rotate in a forward direction and lie between the major Galilean moons and retrograde moons. According to Sheppard, these moons are more difficult to find than the distant retrograde moons. “The reason is that they are closer to Jupiter and the light scattered from this planet is very large,” the astronomer is quoted as saying by the publication.
In 2019, Saturn overtook Jupiter to become the planet with the largest number of moons after Scott S. Sheppard discovered 20 new moons around this ringed planet. A year ago, the astronomer reported on 12 new moons orbiting Jupiter, after which an online contest was held to name them.
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