View source for Metis (moon)

{{Infobox Planet
| name = Metis
| bgcolour = #a0ffa0
| image = Metis.jpg
| caption = Image of Metis was taken by [[Galileo probe|Galileo]]'s solid state imaging system between November 1996 and June 1997.

| discoverer = [[Stephen Synnott|S. Synnott]]
| discovered = [[March 4]], [[1979]]
| mean_orbit_radius = 128,000 [[kilometer|km]] (1.792 R<sub>J</sub>)
| eccentricity = 0.0002
| period = 0.294780 d (7 h 4.5 min)
| periapsis = 127,974 [[kilometer|km]]
| apoapsis = 128,026 [[kilometer|km]]
| avg_speed = 31.501 km/s
| inclination = 0.06° (to Jupiter's equator)
| satellite_of = [[Jupiter (planet)|Jupiter]]

| mean_radius = 21.5 ± 2.0 km
| volume = ~42,700 [[cubic kilometre|km³]]
| mass = 3.6 {{e|16}} [[kilogram|kg]]
| density = 0.86 g/cm³ (assumed)
| surface_grav = 0.005 [[Acceleration|m/s²]] (0.0005 g)
| escape_velocity = 0.012 km/s
| rotation = [[synchronous rotation|synchronous]]
| axial_tilt = zero
| albedo = 0.061 ± 0.003 
| single_temperature = ~123 K
}}
'''Metis''' or '''{{nowrap|Jupiter XVI}}''', is [[Jupiter (planet)|Jupiter]]'s closest moon.

Metis was found in 1979 by [[Stephen P. Synnott]] in images taken by the [[Voyager 1]] probe.  Its designation was '''{{nowrap|S/1979 J 3}}'''.  In 1983 it was named after the mythological [[Metis (mythology)|Metis]], a [[Titan (mythology)|Titan]]ess who was the first wife of [[Zeus]] (the Greek equivalent of Jupiter).

Metis is not a [[sphere]] and measures 60×40×34&nbsp;km across. The composition and mass of Metis are not known, but assuming that its mean density is like that of Amalthea (~0.86 g/cm³), its mass can be estimated as ~7×10<sup>16</sup> kg. Amalthea's density implies that moon is composed of water [[ice]] with a [[porosity]] of 10-15%, and Adrastea may be similar.

The surface of Metis is very [[crater]]ed. It is dark and appears to be reddish in color.

==Orbit==
Metis is the closest moon to [[Jupiter (planet)|Jupiter]]. It orbits Jupiter at a distance of ~128,000&nbsp;km.  It has a very small [[orbital eccentricity]] (~0.0002) and [[inclination]] (~ 0.06°) relative to the equator of Jupiter.7

==Exploration==
The images taken by ''Voyager 1'' showed Metis only as a dot, and very little was known about Metis until the arrival of the [[Galileo (spacecraft)|''Galileo'' spacecraft]]. ''Galileo'' took pictures of almost all of the surface of Metis and put constraints on its composition.

==Other websites==
*[http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Jup_Metis Metis Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071109115650/http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Jup_Metis |date=2007-11-09 }} by [http://solarsystem.nasa.gov NASA's Solar System Exploration]
<br />{{Moons of Jupiter}}

[[Category:Jupiter's moons]]