EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Jupiter has 62 known moons. The four Galilean moons are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.

Detailed explanation-2: -The largest of these moons were likely asteroids that were captured from solar orbits by Jupiter before impacts with other small bodies shattered them into many kilometer-sized fragments, forming collisional families of moons sharing similar orbits.

Detailed explanation-3: -For many years, we knew of 16 moons for the largest planet in our solar system. In the last few years, about two dozen new moons have been announced by astronomers. However, being announced does not mean that these become “official” moons of the planet.

Detailed explanation-4: -Which planet has 16 moons? Among the planets far from the Sun, Jupiter has 16 known moons, Saturn has 18, Neptune has eight and Uranus beats the record, with 21. The only exception is the last planet in the solar system, Pluto, which has only one solitary moon – the planet is small and failed to attract other stars.