Why do Jupiter lines coincide with moons plane?

Question

Last night I pointed my little telescope to a bright star that I'm pretty sure it was Jupiter. I was able to see three shinning objects beside it that I assumed as some of Jupiter moons. The moons seemed to be aligned with the planet. I was also able to see the parallel lines in the planet that where also aligned with the planet-moons line. Is that a coincidence or does it have some explanation? I hope you get what I mean.

Answer 1

Jupiter is a gas giant so its rotation makes the clouds in the outer layer look like parallel lines! The moons orbits are typically parallel (or near parallel) to its equator because of the way it was formed!

Answer 2

The belts on the surface are due to the axial rotation of Jupiter. The rotation is so fast the clouds are pulled into parallel belts. The moons also do the same, because of the way they are formed and the direction Jupiter's gravity is pulling them in. They were most likely formed from the same accretion disc, which rotated in a single plane. When the disc separated, the moons and the planet were still spinning in the same direction, so they are still in the one plane.