What are the names of the 67 moons of Jupiter?

Jupiter’s Crazy Moon Party: 97 and Counting!

Jupiter, that giant swirling gas ball in our solar system, isn’t just a planet; it’s like the head of a huge, slightly chaotic family. And boy, does it have a lot of kids! As of today, April 30, 2025, Jupiter’s officially rocking a posse of 97 confirmed moons. Can you believe it? That’s second only to Saturn! These aren’t just any moons, either. We’re talking everything from planet-sized behemoths to tiny little space rocks, each with its own weird and wonderful story.

The Galilean Gang: The OG Moons

You’ve probably heard of these guys: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. These are the Galilean satellites, discovered way back in 1610 by Galileo Galilei (and, okay, Simon Marius spotted them around the same time). These were the first objects anyone had ever seen orbiting a planet other than our own Earth! Talk about a mic drop moment for Galileo. These moons are seriously hefty, holding something like 99.997% of all the mass chilling around Jupiter. And Ganymede? It’s a monster! Bigger than the planet Mercury, which is just mind-blowing.

What’s super cool is how different each of these moons is:

• Io: This place is a volcanic nightmare – in the best way! It’s the most volcanically active spot in the whole solar system, constantly spewing out sulfur. Imagine the smell!
• Europa: Now, this is where things get interesting. Europa is an icy world, and scientists think there might be a liquid ocean sloshing around under that ice. That makes it a prime spot in the hunt for alien life. NASA’s even got a mission, the Europa Clipper, that launched in October 2024, to check it out. Fingers crossed!
• Ganymede: Not only is it the biggest moon in the solar system, but it’s also got its own magnetic field. How cool is that? It’s like the moon equivalent of having its own superpower.
• Callisto: This one’s a bit of a bruiser. It’s covered in craters, a testament to a rough and tumble past.

The Inner Circle: The Ringmasters

Closer to Jupiter, you’ve got the inner moons: Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, and Thebe. These little guys are like the keepers of Jupiter’s faint ring system. They basically get smacked by space rocks, which kicks up dust and keeps the rings looking, well, ring-y.

The Outliers: The Space Nomads

Most of Jupiter’s moons are these outer, irregular types. Think of them as the rebels of the moon world. They’re far out, their orbits are all wonky and tilted, and a bunch of them even orbit in the opposite direction of Jupiter! The theory is that these guys were probably asteroids that got too close and Jupiter’s gravity just yoinked them into orbit.

So, Who Gets to Name These Things?

The tradition is to name Jupiter’s moons after Jupiter’s (or Zeus’, if you’re feeling Greek) lovers and daughters. While the big Galilean moons got their names pretty quickly, it took a while for those names to catch on. A lot of the smaller, newer moons just have temporary names for now.

The Moon Count: Still Climbing!

The number of moons Jupiter has just keeps going up. As our telescopes get better, we keep finding more of these little guys. A guy named Scott S. Sheppard has discovered over 60 moons around Jupiter! And experts think there are probably around 100 irregular moons bigger than a kilometer floating around out there. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) officially recognizes 95 moons. It makes you wonder, how many moons does Jupiter really have?

While listing all 97 moons would take forever, here are a few more of the named ones, besides the Galilean and inner moons:

• Himalia
• Lysithea
• Elara
• Ananke
• Carme
• Pasiphae
• Sinope
• Leda
• Euanthe
• Euporie
• Harpalyke

Jupiter’s moon collection is a wild and wonderful bunch, giving us tons of clues about how planets and solar systems form. And as we keep exploring, who knows what other secrets we’ll find hiding in Jupiter’s lunar family?