Space and Astronomy Atlas

How The Universe Works
Celestial Objects

Amalthea

Moons

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Amalthea is a moon of Jupiter with the third-closest orbit of any known Jovian satellite and the fifth of Jupiter's moons to be discovered, giving it the alternate designation Jupiter V; it is also the fifth-largest of Jupiter's moons, after the four Galilean satellites. It was found by the American astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard on 9 September 1892 and named for Amalthea of Greek mythology, and it holds the distinction of being the last natural satellite in the Solar System discovered purely by direct visual observation, before photographic and digital imaging took over the search for new moons.

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