Jupiter Triple Moon Conjunction
Explanation:
Our solar system's ruling giant planet Jupiter and 3 of its 4
large Galilean moons are captured in this single
Hubble snapshot
from January 24.
Crossing in front of Jupiter's banded cloud tops
Europa, Callisto, and Io
are framed from lower left to
upper right in a rare triple-moon conjunction.
Distinguishable by colors alone
icy Europa is almost white,
Callisto's ancient cratered surface looks dark brown,
and volcanic Io appears yellowish.
The transiting moons and
moon shadows can be identified by
sliding your cursor over the image, or following
this link.
Remarkably, two small, inner Jovian moons,
Amalthea and Thebe, along with
their shadows,
can
also be found in the sharp
Hubble view.
The Galilean moons have diameters of 3,000 to 5,000 kilometers or so,
comparable in size to Earth's moon.
But odd-shaped Amalthea and Thebe are only about 260 and 100
kilometers across
respectively.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
