University of Hawaii astronomers report their discovery of 11 satellites of Jupiter, all members of Jupiter's outer "irregular" satellite system. These observations double the number of such moons known to orbit the planet and are the largest number of satellites ever discovered at one time. Ten of the discoveries were announced today on International Astronomical Union Circular IAUC 7555. The 11th was announced at the end of November on IAUC 7525. Discovery The satellites were discovered during a systematic search of the space near Jupiter conducted at the University of Hawaii 88 inch (2.2 meter) telescope atop Mauna Kea. We employed a large format charge-coupled device (CCD) camera (the "8K") to obtain a wide field of view. The CCD produces digital images that can be conveniently analysed using computers. Our strategy was to obtain 3 images of each position in order to search for objects moving against the star and galaxy background. Objects near Jupiter move with a characteristic slow speed that helps us to distinguish them from foreground asteroids and background Kuiper Belt Objects.

Read More About S/2000 J11