Carme (moon)
Moon of Jupiter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Carme /ˈkɑːrmiː/ is one of the largest irregular satellites of Jupiter.
Carme photographed by the Haute-Provence Observatory in December 1998 | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Seth B. Nicholson |
| Discovery site | Mt. Wilson Observatory |
| Discovery date | 30 July 1938 |
| Designations | |
Designation | Jupiter XI |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkɑːrmiː/[2][3] |
Named after | Κάρμη Karmē |
| Adjectives | Carmean /kɑːrˈmiːən/[4] |
| Orbital characteristics[5] | |
| Epoch 17 December 2020 (JD 2459200.5) | |
| Observation arc | 82.02 yr (29,958 days) |
| 0.1509370 AU (22,579,850 km) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2294925 |
| –693.17 d | |
| 17.48241° | |
| 0° 31m 9.68s / day | |
| Inclination | 163.53496° (to ecliptic) |
| 209.94088° | |
| 133.45035° | |
| Satellite of | Jupiter |
| Group | Carme group |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 46.7±0.9 km[6] | |
| Mass | 8.69×1016 kg (calculated) |
Mean density | 1.63 g/cm3 (assumed)[7] |
| 10.40±0.05 h[8] | |
| Albedo | 0.035±0.006[6] |
Spectral type | D[6] |
| 18.9[9] | |
| 10.5[5] | |
Discovery and naming
It was discovered by Seth Barnes Nicholson at Mount Wilson Observatory in California in July 1938.[1]
It is named after the mythological Carme, mother by Zeus of Britomartis, a Cretan goddess. Carme did not receive its present name until 1975;[10] before then, it was simply known as Jupiter XI. It was sometimes called "Pan"[11] between 1955 and 1975 (Pan is now the name of a satellite of Saturn).
Orbit
Carme orbits Jupiter at an average distance of 22,579,859 km in 693.17 days, at an inclination of 165° to the ecliptic, in a retrograde direction and with an eccentricity of 0.23. They are continuously changing due to solar and planetary perturbations.
It gives its name to the Carme group, made up of retrograde irregular moons orbiting Jupiter at distances ranging between 22.7–23.5 million km, at an inclination of about 165°, and eccentricities between 0.24 and 0.28.
Physical characteristics
With a diameter of 46.7±0.9 km (Albedo 3.5), it is the largest member of the Carme group and the fourth-largest irregular moon of Jupiter.[6]
Like the other members of the Carme group (except for Kalyke) it is light red in color (B−V=0.76, V−R=0.47), similar to D-type asteroids.[12]
The rotation period is approximately 10 hours and 24 min.[8]
Origin
Carme probably did not form near Jupiter but was captured by Jupiter later. Like the other members of the Carme group, which have similar orbits, Carme is probably the remnant of a broken, captured heliocentric asteroid.
See also
- Kallichore (moon) – a small Carme group moon that might be visited by the European Space Agency's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) mission in 2031
- Irregular satellites
- Jupiter's moons in fiction