Originally Posted By Pinkfloydvinyl

Galileo and the Jovian Satellites

On the nights of January 7/8, 1610, Galileo Galilei noted in his notebooks the discovery of the first 4 Jovian moons, which he named after the powerful Medici family, naming them Medicean I, II and III.  The name Europa (above left) comes from Greek mythology-Europa was abducted by Zeus (the Greek name for Jupiter) in the form of a bull and bore him many children.  Io is also named for a child of Zeus (Jupiter), the daughter of Inachus, who was raped by Jupiter. Jupiter, in an effort to hide his crime from his wife, Juno, transformed Io into a heifer.  Calllisto (on the right) was named for another seduction of Jupiter.  Callisto was the daughter of Lycaon, who was a follower of Artemis, famous as goddess of the hunt and for her chastity.  To punish Callisto for lying with Jupiter, Artemis banished her.  Without protection, Jupiter was forced to change Callisto and her son into bears to hide them from his wife Hera’s fury.  Eventually, Jupiter placed them both in the sky as the Ursa Major and Minor, the Big and Little Bears (known today as the Big and Little Dippers).  Ganymede was the fourth moon discovered by Galileo, named for the shepherd boy known for his incredible beauty and kidnapped by Jupiter.  These names would not become common for several hundred years.  Today, Jupiter has fifty named moons:

1. Io  2. Europa

3. Ganymede

4. Callisto

5. Amalthea

6. Himalia

7. Elara

8. Pasiphae

9. Sinope

10. Lysithea

11. Carme

12. Ananke

13. Leda

14. Thebe

15. Adrastea

16. Metis

17. Callirrhoe

18. Themisto

19. Megaclite

20. Taygete

21. Chaldene

22. Harpalyke

23. Kalyke

24. Iocaste

25. Erinome

26. Isonoe

27. Praxidike

28. Autonoe

29. Thyone

30. Hermippe

31. Aitne

32. Eurydome

33. Euanthe

34. Euporie

35. Orthosie

36. Sponde

37. Kale

38. Pasithee

39. Hegemone

40. Mneme

41. Aoede

42. Thelxinoe

43. Arche

44. Kallichore

45. Helike

46. Carpo

47. Eukelade

48. Cyllene

49. Kore

50. Herse

and an additional 16 provisional moons:

1. S/2003 J2

2. S/2003 J3

3. S/2003 J4

4. S/2003 J5

5. S/2003 J9

6. S/2003 J10

7. S/2003 J12

8. S/2003 J15

9. S/2003 J16

10. S/2003 J18

11. S/2003 J19

12. S/2003 J23

13. S/2010 J 1

14. S/2010 J 2

15. S/2011 J1

16. S/2011 J2

All images courtesy NASA.  Thanks also to NASA for additional historical background.

//Tulip: For your birthday, what kind of cake do you ask for?

meme; accepting

“Oh, well, I haven’t had cake in a long time. I can’t remember...

“... I think I liked marbled cake the best. With chocolate frosting.”

Watch the gif for 30 seconds, then look at the picture! 

My muse is dead. Tell me how yours is dealing with it.

Send me 😇 for a thread where my muse is an angel.

Send me 😈 for a thread where my muse is a demon.

The echo was warm, welcoming, fatherly. Despite themself, Callisto felt a suddenly sharp stab of loneliness. A hesitant hand reached to touch the bioluminescent bloom, feeling the soft petals. Cupping their hands around the back of the echo flower, Callisto brought it closer to them again, whispering softly into it.

“ ... I ‘ m  s t a r t i n g  m y  o r b i t  a r o u n d  J u p i t e r ...”

The child glanced back over at Gaster as the echo flower whispered back, smiling a little. They doubted he realized the significance of the nickname. He probably didn’t even know what it meant. That didn’t seem to bother them in the slightest. Callisto held their ear a little closer to the flower, trying to hear any fault in the replication of their voice and hearing none. The sound was immaculately clear at first, and as soft as the echo flower’s petals.

Little Moon? How curious.

The minuscule detail was noticed in the back of Gaster’s mind; he was much more interested in Callisto’s behavior.

In the Underground there weren’t many children. Few as they were, he saw even less with his job occupation. Regulation of the Core and certain experiments weren’t suitable for most children, and as much as Gaster loved science (with all his heart, really) he sometimes felt a pang in his soul at that. Children were so full of youth and life, so new to the world they lived in. Everything was magical to them.

Observing Callisto, he noted how they were in awe of the sotto voce imitations. The monster and human were illuminated a ethereal blue - the echo flowers also mimicked the infinitely distant starlight and comets in the high above galaxy, even further away beneath Mt. Ebott. It was beautiful. It was harmonious.

Gaster smiled.

“… L i t t l e  M o o n , L i t t l e  M o o n , h o w  d o  y o u  d o … ?”

“:>”

CALLISTO.

hurt meme.

“ i got you. it’s gonna be okay, you’re going to be okay.”

“i feel like everyone’s miles away from me.”

“my mind is a dark place. you don’t want to be there.”

“i know this hurts, but you have to stay awake.”

“don’t close your eyes, please don’t close your eyes!”

“i just want to be numb, i don’t want to feel anything.”

“please don’t do this, don’t act like you care.”

“you don’t care, nobody cares, just leave.”

“you’re my friend, of course i fucking care.”

“i can’t give up on you, so please don’t give up on yourself.”

“i love you so much, i forgot what hating myself felt like.”

“i fucked up, why do you not care?”

“i can’t walk, just go on without me.”

“you have broken ribs, take it easy.”

“i have no idea how to do cpr.”

“whose blood is that?”

“apply pressure to the wound, don’t let go.”

“don’t you dare fucking let go!”

“what the hell happened to you?”

“are they dead? did you kill them?”

“do you know what you’ve done?”

“you’re either with me or against me.”

“who the hell did this to you?”

“are you alright? you hit your head pretty hard…”

“i can’t see!! what’s happening to me?”

“when was the last time you ate?”

“what do you mean you’re fine? you are not fine!”

“i’m fine, it’s just a flesh wound, i’ll be okay.”

“for how long? how long were you bottling this up?“

“there’s so much blood, you won’t last.”

“are you… throwing up in there?”

“why aren’t you eating?”

“just breathe… you’re okay, i promise, just breathe.”

“i can’t breathe, i can’t –”

“i woke up, & you were gone.”

“just tell me something, was it really worth it?”

“it’s okay to hurt & breakdown. you don’t have to be strong all the time.”