Moons Across Jupiter

Jupiters moons circle Jupiter. The featured video depicts Europa and Io, two of Jupiters largest moons, crossing in front of the grand planets Great Red Spot, the largest known storm system in our Solar System. The video was composed from images taken by the robotic Cassini spacecraft as it passed Jupiter in 2000, on its way to Saturn. The two moons visible are volcanic Io, in the distance, and icy Europa. In the time-lapse video, Europa appears to overtake Io, which is odd because Io is closer to Jupiter and moves faster. The explanation is that the motion of the fast Cassini spacecraft changes the camera location significantly during imaging. Jupiter is currently being visited by NASAs robotic Juno spacecraft, while ESAs Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE), launched in April, is enroute.