Page 4 - SOLAR SYSTEM

Jupiter's moons

s a Ju1>iter has more moons than

any other- ~lanet. This is because of its
huge size, as it means it has a very strong
pull of gravity. So far, 67 moons have
been discovered. The four biggest can be
:,I
seen with binoculars. They're known as the
Jt. Through a pair ol' binoculars,
Galilean moons, because they were seen for Jupiter's Galilean moons look like a
line ol' stars alongside the planet.
' the first time by the Italian astronomer,

Galileo Galilei, in 1610.

S 9 The Galilean moons were a You will need:
surprise ror astronomers. These icy a pair of binoculars
worlds all have very different features, and ~/ear night, find the brightest
are not the dead, dusty worlds that _m the sky. Look at it through
scientists expected them to be. no~ulars. If it has a line of tiny
th hst ol' Jupiter's moons to be t on one or both sides
'f The Galilean moons were e d rbiting another planet. und Jupiter - and i '
hst moons ,oun °
discovered, an d th e 1

,o Jupiter's
largest moon, Ganymede,
is also the bi99est in
the Solar System. It is
1.5 times the size of our
Moon. Ganymede is
covered with a deep layer
of ice. The second largest,
Callisto, is the most
heavily cratered object in
the Solar System.