Metis (moon)

Metis (moon)

Metis ( /ˈmiːtɨs/ MEE-təs; Greek: Μήτις), also known as Jupiter XVI, is the innermost moon of Jupiter. It was discovered in 1979 in images taken by Voyager 1, and was named in 1983 after the first wife of Zeus, Metis. Additional observations made between early 1996 and September 2003 by the Galileo spacecraft allowed the surface of the moon to be imaged.

Metis is tidally locked to Jupiter, which led to a high asymmetry in the shape of the moon, with one of the diameters being almost twice as large as the smallest one. It is also one of the three moons in the Solar System known to orbit its planet in less than the length of that planet's day, the other two being Jupiter's Adrastea and Mars's Phobos. It orbits within the main ring of Jupiter, and is thought to be a major contributor of material to the rings.

Read more about Metis (moon):  Discovery and Observations, Physical Characteristics, Orbit, Relationship With Jupiter's Rings