NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day on October 12, 2026, shows Jupiter’s four bright Galilean moons lined up above Earth’s Moon in an image made from multiple exposures near the time of their apparent alignment.
The image was taken in Westchester, New York, by Chirag Upreti. NASA’s explanation identifies the moons, from bottom to top, as Ganymede, Io, Callisto and Europa. Earth’s Moon appears in the lower-left portion of the image as a bright crescent; its darker side is faintly lit by earthshine.
NASA said the alignment became visible because the Moon passed directly in front of Jupiter the previous week. The agency’s daily astronomy feature also notes that the robotic Juno spacecraft is orbiting Jupiter and has made close passes near three of the four moons shown.
The image and accompanying explanation were published as part of NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day, a daily feature presenting a space image with commentary from an astronomer.
