Jupiter now has 79 planet moons
#MTNshortz3sixtyworld
Researchers said that Jupiter, the oldest and largest planet, has 79 planet moons with the latest discovery of 12 new ones.
U.S. researchers announced the discovery of 12 new moons orbiting Jupiter, bringing the total number of the planet’s known moons to 79.
The discovery means Jupiter, the oldest and largest planet in the solar system, has more moons than any of the other seven.
Scott Sheppard of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington and his team discovered the moons more than a year ago while looking for a possible massive planet beyond Pluto.
“Jupiter just happened to be in the sky near the search fields where we were looking for extremely distant solar system objects,” Sheppard said, according to a Carnegie Institution news release.
The team was able to look for new moons “serendipitously,” he added.
Gareth Williams of the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center used Sheppard’s observations to calculate orbits for the newly found moons.
“It takes several observations to confirm an object actually orbits around Jupiter,” Williams said.
“So, the whole process took a year.”
Eleven of the newly discovered moons are considered normal, with diameters between one and three kms.
Nine of them are part of a distant outer swarm of moons that orbit in the opposite direction of Jupiter’s spin rotation; two are much closer to Jupiter and orbit in the same direction as the planet.
The 12th moon is being called an oddball because, while it orbits in the same direction as Jupiter’s spin, it is much farther away than the others orbiting in that direction and it is comparatively tiny.
More Stories
24-YEAR-OLD MAN COMMITS SUICIDE IN OGUN
A 24-year-old man, identified as Dada Adesonye, has reportedly died by suicide after hanging himself to a tree in the...
LAGOS GOVT PARTNERS CELSIR TO LAUNCH JUVENILE EDUCATION PROGRAMME
In a bid to ensure that the inmates in the State Correctional Centres are not deprived of quality education, the...
MAN WHO DIED AFTER JUMPING INSIDE LAGOS CANAL NOT CHASED BY POLICE – HUNDEYIN
On Wednesday, a tragic incident occurred in the Ipaja area of Lagos State when a young man who was allegedly...
VIDEO: KAI ARREST MISCREANTS, ILLEGAL SQUATTERS IN LAGOS
The Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps’ officials, also known as KAI, have arrested several miscreants and squatters in the Ozumba...
VIDEO: LAGOS DEMOLISHES MORE BUILDINGS BLOCKING DRAINAGE CHANNELS
In an effort to prevent flooding, the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources has continued the removal...
UPDATE: JIGAWA TANKER EXPLOSION DEATH TOLL RISES TO 167
A tanker explosion in Jigawa State's Taura Local Government Area has killed 167 people, according to state governor Umar Namadi....