AST101H5 Lecture 8: Chapter 8
Document Summary
Chapter 8 - part 3. Thursday, november 19, 2015. Moons of the jovian planets. Each jovian planet has many moons, from 13 to at least 63 (still being discovered) The moons can be grouped into three families based on their properties: Large moons - formed with their planet. Medium moons - formed with planet. Small moons - irregular shapes and orbits - > probably captured after the planet formed. Their large masses create enough gravity to pull them into a spherical shape - like earth"s moon. Located above the planet"s equator. In the same direction as their planet"s rotation. These moons formed with their planet. Some large moons have active surfaces. One large moon has an atmosphere. Like a tiny solar system around planet. 3) galileo discovered 4 large moons of jupiter in 1610: Io = large moon closest to jupiter. Callisto = large moon farthest from jupiter. There are no impact craters.