SOLAR SYSTEM

Detailed explanation-1: -Peering through his newly-improved 20-power homemade telescope at the planet Jupiter on Jan. 7, 1610, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei noticed three other points of light near the planet, at first believing them to be distant stars.

Detailed explanation-2: -Jan 7, 1610 CE: Galileo Discovers Jupiter’s Moons. On January 7, 1610, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei discovered, using a homemade telescope, four moons orbiting the planet Jupiter.

Detailed explanation-3: -In a very short time, Galileo discovered Jupiter’s four largest moons-Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, now called the Galilean moons. Each moon has unique characteristics that make it stand out in the solar system. For example, Io is the most volcanically active object in the solar system.

Detailed explanation-4: -On January 7, 1610 Galileo first viewed Jupiter through his telescope. What caught his eye was not the planet itself, but three bright stars that were arranged in a perfect line on either side of the planet. Galileo sketched Jupiter and the three stars, thinking at first they were simply a chance alignment.