Jupiter and its four Galilean moons as seen through a small telescope.

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Jupiter and its four Galilean moons as seen through a small telescope using a magnification of about 30. The four moons and the major dark belts of Jupiter are easily visible even with low magnification. The positions of the moons change from night to night as they orbit the planet. Galileo was the first to observe these moons, in 1610, hence their description as Galilean moons or satellites. He realised that their movements showed that bodies other than the Earth could be centres of influence, with the controversial implication that Earth is not at the centre of the Universe, as believed by the Church. The Galilean satellites are named (in order outwards) Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.

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Size: 1890px × 1260px
Photo credit: © Robin Scagell/Galaxy / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: astronomy, callisto, europa, galilean, galileo, ganymede, io, jupiter, moons, orbit, orbiting, planet, planetary, satellites, small, space, telescope