Timeline: Galilean Moons

1609

Introduction

Welcome to my first timetoast timeline. This timeline is about the history of the Galilean moons of Jupiter. I hope you will enjoy reading about it.

1610

Galileo`s Discovery

In 1610 Galileo Galilei looked through a small telescope at Jupiter and discovered four objects around it. At first, he thought they were stars but each day he looked at them and they were in different locations around Jupiter. That’s when he realized they were moons orbiting around Jupiter. This changed the way he thought about the universe. The moons were named Io, Europa, Callisto and Ganymede.

1973

Pioneer 10

In 1973 Pioneer 10 became the first probe to fly by Jupiter. It took pictures of Ganymede, Callisto and Europa but not Io because too much radiation from Jupiter had damaged the camera.

1974

Pioneer 11

In 1974 Pioneer 11 took over 200 different photos of Jupiter’s moons.

1979

Voyager 1

In 1979 Voyager 1 flies by Jupiter’s moons and discovers that Ganymede has tectonic plates and that Io is volcanic.

Apr 24, 1979

Voyager 2

On April 24, 1979 Voyager 2 gets photos of the entire Jovian system including Ganymede Callisto, Io and Europa, as well as many smaller moons.

1996

Galileo Probe

In 1996, the Galileo probe confirms there is an ice shell and water on Europa.

1997

Io`s Eruption

In 1997, Hubble the space telescope, spots volcanoes erupting on Io. The Galileo probe also sees these eruptions.

2000

Cassini Probe

The Cassini probe flies around Jupiter and takes photos of the Jovian system in 2000.

2016

Water on Europa

In 2016 NASA’s Hubble telescope spots water shooting out of Europa’s icy surface. This is more proof there is water on Europa.

2030

Future Missions

In 2030, the probes, JUICE and Europa Clipper, are expected to arrive in the Jovian system. They will continue to study Jupiter and its largest moons.

2031