Credit & Copyright: Betul Turksoy
Explanation:
On May 20, a nearly Full Moon and Jupiter shared this telephoto field of
view.
Captured when a passing cloud bank dimmed the moonlight,
the single exposure reveals the familiar
face of our fair planet's own large natural satellite, along
with bright Jupiter (lower right) and some of its
Galilean moons.
Lined up left to right the tiny pinpricks of light near Jupiter are
Ganymede,
Europa,
[Jupiter] and
Callisto.
(That's not just dust on your screen ...)
Closer and brighter, our own natural satellite appears to loom large.
But Ganymede, and Callisto are physically larger than Earth's Moon,
while water
world Europa is only slightly smaller.
In fact, of the Solar System's six
largest
planetary satellites, Saturn's moon Titan is missing
from the scene and a fourth Galilean moon, Io, is hidden by our
ruling gas giant.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Moon - Jupiter - Jupiter's Moons
Publications with words: Moon - Jupiter - Jupiter's Moons
See also: