Jupiter's Inner Moons
Closest to Jupiter
(inward of the Galilean
moons) are the four small moons:
Metis
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Metis (Jupiter XVI) is the innermost of Jupiter's known satellites:
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distance from Jupiter: 128,000 km
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diameter: 40 km
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mass: 9.56e16 kg
a.k.a. 1979 J 3
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Pronounced "MEE
tis"

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Metis was a Titaness who was the first wife of Zeus (Jupiter).
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Discovered by Synnott in 1979 (Voyager
1).
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Metis and Adrastea lie within Jupiter's main ring. They may be the source
of the material comprising the ring.
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Small satellites within a planet's rings are sometimes called "mooms".
Pictures
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(above) just a tiny dot against the planet 41k
gif
More about Metis
Adrastea
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Adrastea (Jupiter XV) is the second of Jupiter's known satellites:
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distance from Jupiter: 129,000 km
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diameter: 20 km (23 x 20 x 15)
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mass: 1.91e16 kg
a.k.a. 1979 J 1
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Pronounced "a DRAS tee uh"
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Adrastea, the distributor of rewards and punishments, was the daughter
of Jupiter and Ananke.
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Discovered by graduate student David Jewitt (working under Danielson) in
1979 (Voyager
1).
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Metis and Adrastea orbit inside the synchronous
orbit radius and inside the Roche
limit. They may be small enough to avoid tidal disruption but their
orbits will eventually decay.
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Adrastea is one of the smallest
moons in the solar system.
Pictures
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(above) Discovery image 43k
gif
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streaks of Adrastea and a star 36k
gif
More about Adrastea
Amalthea
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Amalthea (Jupiter V) is the third of Jupiter's known satellites:
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distance from Jupiter: 181,000 km
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diameter: 189 km (270 x 166 x 150)
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mass: 7.17e18 kg
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Pronounced "am al THEE uh".
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Amalthea was the nymph who nursed the infant Jupiter with goat's milk.
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Discovered by Barnard
in 1892.
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Amalthea and Himalia
are Jupiter's fifth and sixth largest moons; they are about the same size
but only 1/15 the size of next larger one, Europa.
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Like most of Jupiter's moons, Amalthea rotates synchronously; its long
axis is pointed toward Jupiter.
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The reddish color of Amalthea's surface is apparently due to sulfur originating
from Io.
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Its size and irregular shape imply that Amalthea is a fairly strong, rigid
body. Its composition is probably more like an asteroid's than like the
Galilean
moons.
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Like Io,
Amalthea radiates more heat than it receives from the Sun.
Pictures
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(above) Amalthea 20k
gif
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Amalthea 5k
gif; 8k
jpg
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Amalthea 6k
gif
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Map of Amalthea 75k
gif
More about Amalthea
Thebe
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Thebe (Jupiter XIV) is the fourth of Jupiter's known satellites:
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distance from Jupiter: 222,000 km
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diameter: 100 km (100 x 90)
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mass: 7.77e17 kg
a.k.a. 1979 J 2
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Pronounced "THEE bee"
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Thebe was a nymph, daughter of the river god Asopus.
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Discovered by Synnott in 1979 (Voyager
1).
Pictures
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(above) Thebe against the planet 119k
gif
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Discovery image (Thebe's shadow) 57k
gif
More about Thebe
Open Issues
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What role do these moons play in maintaining Jupiter's rings?
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We know next to nothing about these moons. Even the basic mass and size
data are not very accurate.
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Where does Amalthea's extra heat come from? Tidal stress?
... Jupiter
... Metis / Adrastea / Amalthea / Thebe ... Io
...