DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Hobbyist astronomer finds a new Jupiter moon after scanning photos from 2003

Jul 22, 2021 by Dunja Djudjic Add Comment

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

It doesn’t happen every day that a new Jupiter moon gets discovered. And it’s even less common for an amateur astronomer to find one. In fact, this is the first time! Going through the dataset from 2003, Kai Ly discovered a moon around Jupiter that hasn’t been known so far.

David Jewitt and Scott Sheppard from the University of Hawaii led a group that used these 2003 images to discover 23 new moons, including Valetudo, Ersa, and Pandia. All images were captured by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). These images are still available online, and Ly reportedly thought that there could be something more. As it turned out – he was right.

“I’m proud to say that this is the first planetary moon discovered by an amateur astronomer!” Ly said, but added that it’s, after all, “just a typical member of the retrograde Carme group.” This is the group of 22 Jovian moons discovered in 1938 by Seth Barnes Nicholson. This family of Jovian satellites “have similar orbits and appearance and are therefore thought to have a common origin,” NASA explains.

Ly’s recent discovery is currently named EJc0061, but it’s still to get an official name. When it does, Space.com explains, it will likely end in the letter “e.” “A name ending in ‘e’ was chosen in accordance with the International Astronomical Union’s policy for designating outer moons with retrograde orbits,” NASA officials stated when explaining Carme’s name. So, since the newly found EJc0061 belongs to the same group, it will likely also get a name ending in “e.”

Only four Jovian moons are visible when you look through a small telescope like mine. But there are 75 more of them that have been discovered. With the one Ly has found, the total number of known Jupiter’s satellites will be 80. As Space.com notes, Jupiter may have “dozens or even hundreds of undiscovered moons orbiting around it.” So, there are plenty more opportunities for astronomers, whether enthusiasts or professionals, to discover new ones.

[via Space.com; image credits: DasWortgewand, CC0 via Wikimedia Commons]

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Watch the moment amateur astronomer captures rare footage of asteroid striking Jupiter Astronomer uses 2bit Game Boy Camera to capture craters of the Moon NASA shares stunningly detailed photos of Jupiter’s giant moon Ganymede Astrophotographers: The Moon, Venus and Jupiter will form a smiley face in the sky next month

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: astrono, Astrophotography, Jupiter, Moon, space exploration

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.net

About Dunja Djudjic

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

« Instagram now translates your Stories into more than 90 languages
Hubble is back: Here are two new photos it took »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy