Misplaced Pages

Lysithea

Near-infrared photograph of Lysithea (center) by the 2MASS survey
Discovery
Discovered by	Seth B. Nicholson
Discovery site	Mt. Wilson Observatory
Discovery date	6 July 1938
Designations
Designation	Jupiter X
Pronunciation	/laɪˈsɪθiə/
Named after	Λυσιθέα Lysithea
Adjectives	Lysithean /laɪˈsɪθiən/
Orbital characteristics
Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5)
Observation arc	79.87 yr (29,171 days)
Semi-major axis	0.0782144 AU (11,700,710 km)
Eccentricity	0.1478734
Orbital period (sidereal)	+258.57 d
Mean anomaly	27.18992°
Mean motion	1° 23 32.227 / day
Inclination	26.29254° (to ecliptic)
Longitude of ascending node	343.46495°
Argument of perihelion	94.80010°
Satellite of	Jupiter
Group	Himalia group
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	42.2±0.7 km (WISE) 42.2±3 km (occultation)
Synodic rotation period	12.78±0.10 h
Albedo	0.036±0.006
Spectral type	C/P
Apparent magnitude	18.2
Absolute magnitude (H)	11.2

Lysithea /laɪˈsɪθiə/ is a prograde irregular satellite of Jupiter. It was discovered by Seth Barnes Nicholson in 1938 at Mount Wilson Observatory and is named after the mythological Lysithea, daughter of Oceanus and one of Zeus' lovers.

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

It belongs to the Himalia group, moons orbiting between 11 and 13 Gm from Jupiter at an inclination of about 28.3°. Its orbital elements are as of January 2000. They are continuously changing due to solar and planetary perturbations. It is gray in color (B−V=0.72, V−R=0.36, V−I=0.74) and intermediate between C-type and P-type asteroids.

See also

• Irregular satellites
• Jupiter's moons in fiction

References

1. ^ Nicholson, S. B. (October 1938). "Two New Satellites of Jupiter". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 50 (297): 292–293. Bibcode:1938PASP...50..292N. doi:10.1086/124963. S2CID 120216615.
2. "Lysithea". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
3. Cf. also 'Lysithous' in Noah Webster (1884) A Practical Dictionary of the English Language
4. Yenne (1987) The Atlas of the Solar System.
5. ^ "M.P.C. 115890" (PDF). Minor Planet Circular. Minor Planet Center. 27 August 2019.
6. ^ Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Mainzer, A. K.; Masiero, J. R.; Nugent, C. R.; Cutri, R. M.; et al. (August 2015). "NEOWISE: Observations of the Irregular Satellites of Jupiter and Saturn" (PDF). The Astrophysical Journal. 809 (1): 9. arXiv:1505.07820. Bibcode:2015ApJ...809....3G. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/809/1/3. S2CID 5834661. 3.
7. Gomes-Júnior, A. R. (April 2021). "The Irregular Satellites of the Giant Planets" (PDF). Journal for Occultation Astronomy. 11 (2): 3–9. Bibcode:2021JOA....11b...3G.
8. Luu, Jane (September 1991). "CCD photometry and spectroscopy of the outer Jovian satellites". Astronomical Journal. 102: 1213–1225. Bibcode:1991AJ....102.1213L. doi:10.1086/115949. ISSN 0004-6256.
9. Sheppard, Scott. "Scott S. Sheppard - Jupiter Moons". Department of Terrestrial Magnetism. Carnegie Institution for Science. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
10. Marsden, Brian G. (7 October 1975). "Satellites of Jupiter". International Astronomical Union.
11. Payne-Gaposchkin, Cecilia; Katherine Haramundanis (1970). Introduction to Astronomy. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-478107-4.
12. 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. S2CID 120372170.
13. Grav, Tommy; Holman, M. J.; Gladman, B. J.; Aksnes, K. (2003). "Photometric survey of the irregular satellites". Icarus. 166 (1): 33–45. arXiv:astro-ph/0301016. Bibcode:2003Icar..166...33G. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2003.07.005. S2CID 7793999.

External links

• Lysithea: Overview by NASA's Solar System Exploration
• David Jewitt pages
• Jupiter's Known Satellites (by Scott S. Sheppard)

• Himalia group
• Moons of Jupiter
• Irregular satellites
• Astronomical objects discovered in 1938
• Discoveries by Seth B. Nicholson
• Moons with a prograde orbit