With the discovery of 12 new moons, Jupiter now has the most moons. Twelve new moons discovered orbiting Jupiter have been confirmed, bumping the count from 80 to 92, and knocking Saturn — which has 83 moons — down a peg.
- The moons were discovered in 2021 and 2022 by Scott Sheppard, an astronomer at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C.
About Jupiter moons
- Jupiter’s best-known natural satellites are its four Galilean moons, named after astronomer Galileo Galilei, who observed them in 1610.
- The four Galilean moons are: Io (with its lava lakes and enormous volcanic eruptions); Europa, (with its icy shell and inner water ocean); Ganymede, (the largest moon in the solar system-it’s larger than Mercury); and Callisto, the most cratered moon in the solar system.
Future Jupiter missions
- This year, the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) is set to launch toward Jupiter to explore these four moons.
- In 2024, NASA’s Europa Clipper is slated to launch on a mission to get a closer view of Europa.
