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Jupiter has the largest number of moons with secure orbits of any planet in our Solar System. Most of these objects are captured flybys from outer regions. Jupiter’s also stabilizing the asteroid belt towards Mars, thus shielding inner planets from a lot of impacts. 1994 one such impact was observed when Jupiter “caught” comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 and its fragments impacted in Jupiter’s southern hemisphere. So Jupiter’s collecting isn’t very well kept. Even the largest moons are permanently stressed by its gravitational field, causing icy Europa’s surface to wrinkle (liniae), even to partially vaporise and become fluid underneath. The latter is quite interesting to us as microorganisms may have developed in this giant ocean.

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Description

Jupiter has the largest number of moons with secure orbits of any planet in our Solar System. Most of these objects are captured flybys from outer regions. Jupiter’s also stabilizing the asteroid belt towards Mars, thus shielding inner planets from a lot of impacts. 1994 one such impact was observed when Jupiter “caught” comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 and its fragments impacted in Jupiter’s southern hemisphere. So Jupiter’s collecting isn’t very well kept. Even the largest moons are permanently stressed by its gravitational field, causing icy Europa’s surface to wrinkle (liniae), even to partially vaporise and become fluid underneath. The latter is quite interesting to us as microorganisms may have developed in this giant ocean.

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