Astronomers Find a Dozen More Moons for Jupiter

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https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/astronomers-find-a-dozen-more-moons-for-jupiter/

By Jeff Hecht, Sky & Telescope. 

Excerpt: The biggest planet in the solar system now has the largest family of moons. Since December 20th, the Minor Planet Center (MPC) has published orbits for 12 previously unreported moons of Jupiter. More publications are expected, says Scott Sheppard (Carnegie Institute for Science), who recently submitted observations of the Jovian system taken between 2021 and 2022. The discoveries bring the list of Jovian moons to 92, a hefty 15% increase from the previous tally of 80. ...The new finds put Jupiter’s lunar family count well ahead of Saturn’s 83 confirmed moons. However, while Jupiter may have the most moons for now, Saturn might catch up. A search for objects with sizes down to about 3 kilometers across that are moving along with the gas giants found three times more near Saturn than near Jupiter.... 

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