Discovery and Naming
Amalthea was discovered on September 9, 1892, by Edward Emerson Barnard using the 36 inch (91 cm) refractor telescope at Lick Observatory. It was the last planetary satellite to be discovered by direct visual observation (as opposed to photographically) and was the first new satellite of Jupiter since Galileo Galilei's discovery of the Galilean satellites in 1610.
The satellite is named after the nymph Amalthea from Greek mythology who nursed the infant Zeus (the Greek equivalent of Jupiter) with goat's milk. Its Roman numeral designation is Jupiter V. The name "Amalthea" was not formally adopted by the IAU until 1975, although it had been in informal use for many decades. The name was initially suggested by Camille Flammarion. Before 1975 Amalthea was most commonly known simply as Jupiter V. The adjectival form of the name is Amalthean.
Read more about this topic: Amalthea (moon)
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