S/2003 J 2
moon of Jupiter
S/2003 J 2 is an unnamed non-spherical moon of Jupiter. It was found by a team of astronomers from the University of Hawaii led by Scott S. Sheppard and David C. Jewitt and was announced on March 4, 2003 [1][2] As of 2006, it is Jupiter's farthest known moon.
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | University of Hawaiʻi team led by Scott S. Sheppard and David C. Jewitt |
| Discovery date | March 4, 2003 |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Eccentricity | 0.4074 |
| 981.55 d (2.687 Earth years) | |
Average orbital speed | 2.19 km/s (calculated) |
| Inclination | 154° (to the ecliptic) 152° (to Jupiter's equator) |
| Satellite of | Jupiter |
S/2003 J 2 is about two kilometres in diameter, and orbits Jupiter at an average distance of 29,540,000 km in 980 days, at an inclination of 154° to the ecliptic (152° to Jupiter's equator) and with an orbital eccentricity of 0.2255.[3][4][5]
It seems to belong to a group all of its own, with a distant and retrograde orbit.
References
change- ↑ IAUC 8087: Satellites of Jupiter 2003 March 4 (discovery)
- ↑ Sheppard, S. S.; and Jewitt, D. C.; An Abundant Population of Small Irregular Satellites Around Jupiter, Nature, Vol. 423 (May 2003), pp. 261-263
- ↑ MPEC 2003-E11: S/2003 J 1, 2003 J 2, 2003 J 3, 2003 J 4, 2003 J 5, 2003 J 6, 2003 J 7 2003 March 4 (discovery and ephemeris)
- ↑ Mean orbital elements from NASA JPL (August 2006)
- ↑ Current (2004 July 14, JD= 2453200.5) orbital elements as reported by IAU-MPC NSES are a= 0.2024818 AU, e=0.1882469 i=153.52114
