Jupiter has eight satellites, four of which, known since the time of Galileo, are conspicuous objects in the smallest telescope. All but one of these four are larger than our moon, while the other four are extremely insignificant in size. The four principal satellites are designated by Roman numerals, I, II, III, IV, arranged in the order of distance from the planet. They also have names which are seldom used. Satellite I (Io) has a diameter of 2452 miles, and revolves in a period of 1 day, 18 hours, 27 min., 35.5 sec., at a mean distance of 261,000 miles; II (Europa) is 2045 miles in diameter, and revolves in 3 days, 13 hours, 13 min., 42.1 sec., at a mean distance of 415,000 miles; III (Ganymede) has a diameter of 3558 miles, a period of seven days, 3 hours, 42 min., 33.4 sec., and a mean distance of 664,000 miles; IV (Callisto) is 3345 miles in diameter, has a period of 16 days, 16 hours, 32 min., 11.2 sec., and a mean distance of 1,167,000 miles. The object of giving the periods with extreme accuracy will appear when we speak of the use made of observations of Jupiter's satellites. The first of the four small satellites, discovered by Barnard in 1892, is probably less than 100 miles in diameter, and has a mean distance of 112,500 miles, and a period of only 11 hours, 57 min., 22.6 sec. The other small satellites are much more distant than any of the large ones, the latest to be discovered, the eighth, being situated at a mean distance of about 15,000,000 miles, but travelling in an orbit so eccentric that the distance ranges between 10,000,000 and 20,000,000 miles. The period is about two and a fifth years. But the most remarkable fact is that this satellite revolves round Jupiter from east to west, a direction contrary to that pursued by all the others, and contrary to the direction which is almost universal among the rotating and revolving bodies of the solar system. The large satellites are very interesting objects for the telescope. When they come between the sun and Jupiter their round black shadows can be plainly seen moving across his disk, and when they pass round into his shadow they are suddenly eclipsed, emerging after a time out of the other side of the shadow. These phenomena are known as transits and eclipses, and their times of occurrence are carefully predicted in the _American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac_, published at Washington for the benefit of astronomers and navigators, because these eclipses can be employed in comparing local time with standard meridian time. They were formerly utilised to determine the velocity of light, in this way: