Jupiter's moons remain slightly illuminated, even in eclipse
Friday, June 20, 2014 - 07:31
in Astronomy & Space
Astronomers using the Subaru Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope have found that Jupiter's Galilean satellites (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto) remain slightly bright (up to one millionth of their normal state) even when in the Jovian shadow and not directly illuminated by the Sun. The effect is particularly pronounced for Ganymede and Callisto. The finding was made by researchers at Tohoku University, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science/Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (ISAS/JAXA), National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), and elsewhere.