(ORDO NEWS) — Jupiter , the largest planet in the solar system , has a lot of satellites – 80 to be exact.
And they all vary considerably in size, as shown in the amazing video (below) posted by MetaBallStudios on YouTube, which compares the size of the gas giant’s satellites to New York City.
The video gives a very accurate idea of the size of Jupiter’s natural moons, which formed from the massive protoplanetary disk of gas that gave rise to most objects in the solar system.
Galilean giants
While the gas giant’s dozens of moons are quite tiny Valetudo, for example, is less than a kilometer in diameter the four Galilean moons ( Io , Europa , Ganymede , and Callisto) are much larger:
- Europe – 3,122 kilometers
- Io – 3,643 kilometers
- Callisto – 4,821 kilometers
- Ganymede – 5,268 kilometers
The origin of these four satellites is still shrouded in mystery. Europa, in particular, has long fascinated scientists, for beneath its icy surface lies an ocean of liquid water.
This makes Europa one of the most enticing targets for the search for extraterrestrial life within the solar system.
Despite the impressive size of Jupiter, the record for the number of natural satellites is Saturn , in which 20 moons were discovered at once in 2019. This brings the total number of Lord of the Rings satellites to 82.
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