Lysithea (moon)

Lysithea
Discovery
Discovered by S. B. Nicholson
Discovery date July 6, 1938[1]
Designations
Adjectives Lysithean
Orbital characteristics
Mean orbit radius
 11,720,000 km[2]
Eccentricity 0.11[2]
259.20 d (0.69 a)[2]
3.29 km/s
Inclination 28.30° (to the ecliptic)
25.77° (to Jupiter's equator)[2]
Satellite of Jupiter
Physical characteristics
Mean radius
 18 km[3]
~4100 km2
Volume ~24,400 km3
Mass 6.3×1016 kg
Mean density
 2.6 g/cm3 (assumed)[3]
~0.013 m/s2 (0.001 g)
~0.022 km/s
Albedo 0.04 (assumed)[3]
Temperature ~124 K

    Lysithea (/laɪˈsɪθiə/ ly-SITH-ee-ə, /lɪˈsɪθiə/ li-SITH-ee-ə; Greek: Λυσιθέα) is a prograde irregular satellite of Jupiter. It was discovered by Seth Barnes Nicholson in 1938 at Mount Wilson Observatory[1] and is named after the mythological Lysithea, daughter of Oceanus and one of Zeus' lovers.[4]

    Lysithea did not receive its present name until 1975; before then, it was simply known as Jupiter X. It was sometimes called "Demeter"[5] from 1955 to 1975.

    It belongs to the Himalia group, five moons orbiting between 11 and 13 Gm from Jupiter at an inclination of about 28.3°.[2] Its orbital elements are as of January 2000. They are continuously changing due to solar and planetary perturbations.

    See also

    References

    1. 1 2 Nicholson, S. B. (October 1938). "Two New Satellites of Jupiter". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 50: 292–293. Bibcode:1938PASP...50..292N. doi:10.1086/124963.
    2. 1 2 3 4 5 Jacobson, R.A. (2000). "The orbits of outer Jovian satellites" (PDF). Astronomical Journal. 120 (5): 2679–2686. Bibcode:2000AJ....120.2679J. doi:10.1086/316817.
    3. 1 2 3 "Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters". JPL (Solar System Dynamics). Retrieved 2008-12-12.
    4. ↑ Marsden, Brian G. (1975-10-07). "Satellites of Jupiter". International Astronomical Union.
    5. ↑ Payne-Gaposchkin, Cecilia; Katherine Haramundanis (1970). Introduction to Astronomy. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-478107-4.
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