Caption: A collage Jupiter's inner moons: Thebe (Jupiter XIV) (top two images), Amalthea (Jupiter V) (middle two images), and Metis (Jupiter XVI) (bottom image). From the Galileo spacecraft (1989--2003), 1997 November.

Features:

1. Jupiter has 4 small moons within the orbital radius orbital radius of the innermost Galilean moon Io. Going outward from Jupiter's inner moons are Metis (Jupiter XVI), Adrastea (Jupiter XV), Amalthea (Jupiter V), and Thebe (Jupiter XIV). Adrastea is missing from the collage.

   Note all the moons of Jupiter are collectively the Jupiter system.

2. In the image, north is approximately up for all the Jupiter moons which are in their correct relative sizes.

3. The two Thebe images are rotated by 50°. The large Crater Zelthus is on the far side of Thebe: i.e., on the "hemisphere" permanently turned away from Jupiter.

4. The 1st Amalthea image shows the "hemisphere" that faces along the orbital path of Amalthea. The 2nd image is the far side of Amalthea: i.e., on the "hemisphere" permanently turned away from Jupiter.

5. Jupiter's inner moons are probably captured asteroids or maybe comets. I suppose it is possible that some formed in situ. Certainly, the outer small moons of Jupiter are believed to be captures (HI-221).

6. The Jupiter's inner moons play an essential creating role in Jupiter's rings.

7. Facts for Jupiter's inner moons are given below in Table: Jupiter's Inner Moons.

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Table:  Jupiter's Inner Moons
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Quantity             Metis       Adrastea    Amalthea       Thebe
                     Jupiter XVI Jupiter XV  Jupiter V      Jupiter XIV
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Mean orbital radius  1.79        1.80        2.53            3.11
(Jupiter eqatorial
radii)

Orbital period       0.294780    0.29826     0.49817905      0.6745
(days)
                     Amalthea and Thebe are tidally locked
                     to Jupiter:  i.e., they always turn the same side
                     to Jupiter.  The rotation periods of
                     Metis and Adrastea were unknown as of
                     2000, but they are probably tidally locked too.

Radius               20 x 20     13 x 10 x 8  131.0 x 73.0   55 x 45
(km)                                          x 67.0 

                     Jupiter's inner moons
                     are too small to be pulled into spherical
                     shapes by their own self-gravity.
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