November 2000: eleven new moons of Jupiter

How a graduate student, a CCD camera and computer algorithms changed the count of Jupiter’s moons.

Published 2026-10-23

Megaclite was part of a remarkable haul.^[1]

The survey

In November 2000, Scott Sheppard — then a graduate student of David Jewitt — surveyed around Jupiter with the 2.2 m UH88 telescope at Mauna Kea Observatory.^[4] Using automated computer algorithms, the team found eleven new irregular moons, including the long-lost Themisto.^[4]

The team

NASA credits Megaclite’s discovery on 25 November 2000 to Sheppard, Jewitt, Yanga R. Fernandez and Eugene A. Magnier.^[2]

What came next

From 2001, Sheppard, Jewitt and colleagues continued with the 3.6 m Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope, finding eleven more in December 2001, one in October 2002 and nineteen in February 2003.^[4] Between 2000 and 2004, Jupiter’s known moon count grew from 17 to 63.^[4]

Today

As of April 2026, Jupiter has 115 known moons.^[4]

Numbered citations link to the sources list on the Megaclite overview page.