Rare spectacle of three moons transiting Jupiter’s face captured by Hubble

New images from the Hubble Space Telescope have captured a rare occurrence as three of the Jupiter’s largest moons – Europa, Callisto and Io – parade across the giant gas planet’s banded face.

There are four Galilean satellites – Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto; named after the 17th century scientist Galileo Galilei who discovered them. They complete orbits around Jupiter ranging from two to seventeen days in duration. The moons can commonly be seen transiting the face of Jupiter and casting shadows onto its layers of cloud. However, seeing three of them transiting the face of Jupiter at the same time is rare, occurring only once or twice a decade.

Missing from this sequence is the Galilean moon Ganymede which was outside Hubble’s field of view.

The moons of Jupiter have very distinctive colours. The smooth icy surface of Europa is yellow-white, the volcanic sulfur surface of Io is orange and the surface of Callisto, which is one of the oldest and most cratered surfaces known in the Solar System, is a brownish color.

The images were taken with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 in visible light on the 23rd of January, 2015. Whilst Hubble captures these moons in great clarity they can also be seen with a small telescope or even a pair of binoculars.

Related:
Discuss this article in our forum
Water vapor seen gushing from Europa
Lost: one giant planet
Mysterious Ice Domes Hint At Life On Europa

Source: Hubble Information Center

, , ,

Comments are closed.

Jupiter's Legacy #1-5 VF/NM complete series - Mark Millar Frank Quitely Netflix picture

Jupiter's Legacy #1-5 VF/NM complete series - Mark Millar Frank Quitely Netflix

$15.99



Lost In Space Jupiter 2 POLAR LIGHTS Plastic Model Kit  1998 5033 New NIB picture

Lost In Space Jupiter 2 POLAR LIGHTS Plastic Model Kit 1998 5033 New NIB

$49.00



Jupiter Models 1960 Ford Thunderbird 1/43 scale NM+ Condition Superb Model picture

Jupiter Models 1960 Ford Thunderbird 1/43 scale NM+ Condition Superb Model

$165.00



Polar Lights Jupiter 2 - Built model. Original script from series plus Bonuses picture

Polar Lights Jupiter 2 - Built model. Original script from series plus Bonuses

$339.00



The Planets Jupiter Playing Cards Standard Edition Vanda BRAND NEW picture

The Planets Jupiter Playing Cards Standard Edition Vanda BRAND NEW

$28.99



Lost In Space Classic Jupiter II lights & Sounds MIB Trendmasters picture

Lost In Space Classic Jupiter II lights & Sounds MIB Trendmasters

$224.99



Mattel Lost In Space Switch N Go Jupiter 2 picture

Mattel Lost In Space Switch N Go Jupiter 2

$290.00



Deluxe Jupiter 2 Lighted Landing Pad For 18-Inch Display Model... sound  picture

Deluxe Jupiter 2 Lighted Landing Pad For 18-Inch Display Model... sound

$300.00



Jupiter 2 [from Lost in Space] - with Lights & Gantry Stand - Large picture

Jupiter 2 [from Lost in Space] - with Lights & Gantry Stand - Large

$290.00



Sailor Moon Sailor Jupiter Makoto Kino 8.5-inch Action Figure Toy Model Decor picture

Sailor Moon Sailor Jupiter Makoto Kino 8.5-inch Action Figure Toy Model Decor

$11.99



Powered by WordPress. Designed by WooThemes