[Pagey]

"They all have retrograde orbits, meaning they go around Jupiter in the opposite direction to the planet's rotation".

Does anyone know or would please explain,for the layman,how that works or how that could be?I'd really like to understand that one.I remember last year on the 'Astronomy Picture Of The Day' site,there was a "Coronal Inflow"---{it said,among other things "...a dark inflowing cloud's relative motion is tracked above in two highly processed images recorded an hour apart..."}of 'stuff' going Towards the Sun,which they still can't fully explain,but it sure as hell looked interesting.It's great to see some things that our tax dollars are used for.

[RadioAstronomer]

"They all have retrograde orbits, meaning they go around Jupiter in the opposite direction to the planet's rotation".

Does anyone know or would please explain,for the layman,how that works or how that could be?

A planet rotates (spins like a top). The moons usually circle the planet in the same direction as the planet is spinning. If a moon is circling in the opposite direction, it is a retrograde orbit.

One other interesting note, two asteroids (1999 LE31 and 2000 DG8) are moving in a retrograde orbit around the sun.

[Romulus]

Our own moon has a retrograde orbit. What I'd like to know is whether they're randomly distributed, or if there's some mechanical rule that makes retrograde orbits more probable.