Callirrhoe (moon)

Callirrhoe or Jupiter XVII, is one of Jupiter's farthest named moons. It was found by Spacewatch on October 6, 1999 and originally designated as an asteroid (1999 UX18).[1] It was found to be in orbit around Jupiter by Tim Spahr on July 18, 2000, and then given the designation S/1999 J 1.[2][3]

Callirrhoe is about 8.6 kilometres in diameter, and orbits Jupiter at an average distance of 24,356,000 km in 776.543 days, at an inclination of 141° to the ecliptic (140° to Jupiter's equator), with an orbital eccentricity of 0.264.

It was named in October 2002 after Callirhoe, daughter of the river god Achelous, one of Zeus' (Jupiter's) many conquests.[4]

It belongs to the Pasiphaë group, non-spherical retrograde moons orbiting Jupiter at distances ranging between 22,800,000 and 24,100,000 km, and with inclinations ranging between 144.5° and 158.3°.

As a navigation exercise, the New Horizons spacecraft imaged it on January 10, 2007.

Callirrhoe (moon) Media

References

  1. MPS 7418 (Minor Planet Circulars Supplement); not available on-line
  2. IAUC 7460: S/1999 J 1 2000 July 20 (discovery)
  3. MPEC 2000-Y16: S/1975 J 1 = S/2000 J 1, S/1999 J 1 2000 December 19 (discovery and ephemeris)
  4. IAUC 7998: Satellites of Jupiter 2002 October 22 (naming the moon)