Astronomy Picture of the Day -- Moons and Jupiter

NASA ^ | March 03, 2016 | (see photo credit)

[SunkenCiv]

Explanation: Some of the Solar System's largest moons rose together on February 23. On that night, a twilight pairing of a waning gibbous Moon and Jupiter was captured in this sharp telescopic field of view. The composite of short and long exposures reveals the familiar face of our fair planet's own large natural satellite, along with a line up of the ruling gas giant's four Galilean moons. Left to right, the tiny pinpricks of light are Callisto, Io, Ganymede, [Jupiter], and Europa. Closer and brighter, our own natural satellite appears to loom large. But Callisto, Io, and Ganymede are actually larger than Earth's Moon, while water world Europa is only slightly smaller. In fact, of the Solar System's six largest planetary satellites, only Saturn's moon Titan is missing from the scene.

[SunkenCiv]

[Credit and Copyright: Phillip A Cruden]

[SunkenCiv]

The Big One

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[kidd]

Factoid:

Our moon is the largest moon, as viewed from the surface of its parent planet. This is due to a combination of proximity and diameter.

Jupiter’s Io and Neptune’s Triton have a close 2nd and 3rd apparent diameter.

[Verginius Rufus]

How big would Charon look seen from Pluto?

[SunkenCiv]

:’) Plus, no one is home on Jupiter to view, so we’d win anyway. ;’)