Jupiter has 63 moons and Saturn has 60 small moons.
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun, and has the most moons out of all the planets in our solar system. Some of the planets (Mercury and Venus) have no moons, while Jupiter has a whopping 63! These are just the known moons - so there’s always a chance that more will be discovered!
The four largest of Jupiter’s moons are known as the Galilean moons: Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, and Io. They were discovered by Galileo Galilei, an Italian astronomer, in 1610.
Io is the closest moon to Jupiter, and is covered in many volcanoes. The strong volcanism of Io is caused by the gravitational pull of the other Galilean moons pulling on Io and constantly distorting Io’s shape. This causes heating to occur inside Io’s core, which results in the volcanoes erupting violently and frequently. Io is named after a figure in Greek mythology: a priestess of Hera, one of Zeus’ wives.
Europa is the second-closest Galilean moon of Jupiter. This moon is the subject of a significant amount of scientific research, as many astronomers believe that there may be water on Europa. It is believed that water is a vital component for alien life, but the water that potentially lies on Europa is covered by a thick layer of ice. Europa is the smallest of Jupiter’s Galilean moons, and was named after a woman in Greek mythology who was abducted by Zeus. Europe (the continent) is also named after her! Both Io and Europa always have the same face towards Jupiter.