Leda (moon)

Leda /ˈliːdə/, also known as Jupiter XIII, is a prograde irregular satellite of Jupiter. It was discovered by Charles T. Kowal at the Mount Palomar Observatory on September 14, 1974, after three nights' worth of photographic plates had been taken (September 11 through 13; Leda appears on all of them).[1][7] It was named after Leda, who was raped[8] by Zeus, the Greek equivalent of Jupiter (who came to her in the form of a swan). Kowal suggested the name and the IAU endorsed it in 1975.[9]

For the main belt asteroid, see 38 Leda.

Leda
Discovery
Discovered byCharles T. Kowal
Discovery dateSeptember 11, 1974[1]
Designations
Designation
Jupiter XIII
Pronunciation/ˈliːdə/[2]
Named after
Λήδα Lēdā
AdjectivesLedian /ˈliːdiən/,[3] Ledean /ˈliːdiən/[4] or /liːˈdiːən/[5]
Orbital characteristics [6]
11165000 km
Eccentricity0.164
+240.9 days
228.1°
Inclination27.46°
217.1°
272.3°
Satellite ofJupiter
GroupHimalia group
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
18 km
Mass1.1×1016 kg
Mean density
2.6 g/cm3 (assumed)
~0.0073 m/s2 (0.001 g)
~0.012 km/s
Albedo0.04 (assumed)
Temperature~124 K
20.2

    Leda belongs to the Himalia group, five moons orbiting between 11 and 13 Gm from Jupiter at an inclination of about 27.5°.[10] The orbital elements given here are as of January 2000, but they are continuously changing due to solar and planetary perturbations.

    In fiction
    • The 1956 British film Fire Maidens from Outer Space was set on Jupiter's 13th moon, although this film was made before the discovery of Leda in 1974.
    • In Brenda Hiatt's 2013 teen, science fiction themed romance novel, Starstruck, Rigel impresses Marsha with a telescope that clearly sees Leda. Rigel is in turn impressed that Marsha knows so much about the obscure moon of Jupiter, to include that it was not even discovered until 1974.
    • In Liu Cixin's 2010 science fiction novel Death's End, Jupiter XIII is consumed by a man-made blackhole, thus creating the first-ever stable man-made blackhole.

    See also

    References
    1. Kowal, C. T.; Aksnes, K.; Marsden, B. G.; Roemer, E. (1974). "Thirteenth satellite of Jupiter". Astronomical Journal. 80: 460–464. Bibcode:1975AJ.....80..460K. doi:10.1086/111766.
    2. "Leda". Lexico UK Dictionary. Oxford University Press.
    3. Ken Monteith (2007) Yeats and theosophy, p. 10
    4. Wit Pietrzak (2011) Myth, Language and Tradition: A Study of Yeats, Stevens, and Eliot in the Context of Heidegger's Search for Being, p. 70–72
    5. R.W. Chapman (1939) Adjectives from Proper Names, p. 55
    6. S.S. Sheppard (2019), Moons of Jupiter, Carnegie Science, on line
    7. Brian G. Marsden (September 20, 1974). "IAUC 2702: Probable New Satellite of Jupiter". International Astronomical Union.
    8. Leda and the Swan
    9. Marsden, Brian G. (October 7, 1975). "Satellites of Jupiter". International Astronomical Union.
    10. Jacobson, R. A. (2000). "The orbits of outer Jovian satellites" (PDF). Astronomical Journal. 120 (5): 2679. Bibcode:2000AJ....120.2679J. doi:10.1086/316817.
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