As the largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter is not one to play with. That doesn’t stop wandering comets or asteroids from testing the gas giant, occasionally crashing into Jupiter due to its enormous size and immense gravitational pull.
Jupiter’s orbit is swarming with nearly 100 moons, but none are as hardcore as the volcanic world Io. That’s why it’s going to take an iconic collaboration to truly probe the odd satellite in order to unravel its many mysteries.
NASA/JPL/Insider
Two new studies associated with the James Webb Space Telescope’s Early Release Science program have been published, and both have to do with Jupiter’s moons, namely Ganymede and Io.
A group of radio telescopes in the Chilean desert was aimed at a young star system 400 light years away when it detected something unusual: a cloud of debris chasing a planet along the same orbit. The debris could be a planet in the midst of being born or the remains of one that already exists, making this the first…
Stellarium/NASA/Insider
NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)
Ted S. Warren/AP Photo
Jupiter is a superstar in our solar system. It’s the biggest, it’s wonderfully gassy, and it now has the most documented moons, clocking in at 92 natural satellites.