What mythological figure, a lover of Jupiter, lends her name to the Galilean moon Io?
Answer
Hera (Juno in Roman myth)
The four moons are named according to classical mythology associated with Jupiter, the Roman equivalent of Zeus. Io, one of these moons, is named after a priestess of Hera (who is known as Juno in Roman mythology) who famously became one of Jupiter's lovers. This system of naming directly links the celestial bodies not to their discoverer, Galileo, but to the ancient stories surrounding the planet's namesake god, highlighting a deliberate decision made by the astronomical community decades after the initial discovery to adhere to established mythological naming protocols for newly discovered satellites.
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