Why does Jupiter have so many moons?
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. Because of its large size, it has a large gravitational force. This force captures rocky objects that are traveling past the planet and draws them into the gravitational field. The rocky objects then begin to orbit the planet like satellites, or moons.
Aoede Facts
Named after one of Zeus’ daughters.
Aoede was one of the Greek muses. According to tradition, the muses were the goddesses of literature, science, and art. Aoede was the goddess of music and song.
Aoede was also the daughter of Zeus, the most important Greek god. The Greeks believed Zeus lived on Mount Olympus. The Romans referred to Zeus as the god Jupiter.
Aoede is an outer moon with a retrograde orbit. In other words, Aoede, orbits Jupiter in a direction opposite of the planet itself. According to the International Astronomical Union’s policy, moons with retrograde orbits must have a name ending with an “e”.
Aoede as a long orbit.
The moon Aoede is about 15 million miles from Jupiter and takes about 761 Earth days, or a bit more than two Earth years, to finish just one orbit.
Aoede is a small moon.
Aoede is four kilometers, or 2.5 miles, in diameter.
The Moon Aoede is part of the Pasiphae Moon Group.
Aoede is part of the Pasiphae Moon Group. Moons in this group are thought to have been made from the same source as a result of a collision with an asteroid. The remains from that collision were drawn into Jupiter’s gravitational field and became moons, orbiting the planet.
Other moons in the Pasiphae Moon Group include Autonoe, Callirrhoe, Cyllene, Eurydome, Hegemone, Kore, Megaclite, Pasiphae, Sinope, and Sponde.
The colors of the moons in this category vary widely from red to gray. The color of the object depends upon the object from which the moon was formed. Most of the retrograde moons have a dark gray color.
Aoede Facts – The moon has an odd orbit.
All of the Pasiphae moons have retrograde orbits; they orbit Jupiter the opposite of the way the planet rotates. Aoede also has an elliptical, or egg shaped, orbit instead of a circular orbit.