8. Ganymede
Found Year: 1610
Simon Marius and Galileo Galilei made the discovery.
Location: Jupiter’s orbit
Ganymede, a satellite of Jupiter and the largest moon in the Solar System, gets its name from the mythological celestial hero. Two of the most well-known astronomers of antiquity, Galileo Galilei and Simon Marius, made the discovery of Ganymede in the 1600s.
Ganymede ©NASA/Wikimedia
The fact that Ganymede was the first moon to be found orbiting a planet other than Earth makes it noteworthy. In addition, this moon is the biggest object in the Solar System devoid of a significant atmosphere. Its orbital period is only 172 hours, and its radius is 1,636.8 miles.
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