S/2003 J 2

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S/2003 J 2
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)
2.19 km/s (calculated)
Inclination 154° (to the ecliptic)
152° (to Jupiter's equator)
Satellite of Jupiter

S/2003 J 2 is a retrograde irregular satellite of Jupiter. The discovery, by a team of astronomers from the University of Hawaii led by Scott S. Sheppard and David C. Jewitt, was announced on March 4, 2003.[1][2] As of 2015, it is Jupiter's outermost known moon.

S/2003 J 2 is about 2 km (1.2 mi) in diameter, and orbits Jupiter at an average distance of 29.54 gigametres (0.1975 AU) in 981.55 days, at an inclination of 154° to the ecliptic (152° to Jupiter's equator) and with an eccentricity of 0.4100.[3][4][5]

It seems to belong to a group all of its own, with semi-major axis ~30 gigametres (0.20 AU) and inclination ~160°.[4]

The limits of Jupiter's gravitational influence are defined by its Hill sphere, whose radius is 52 gigametres (0.35 AU). Retrograde moons with axes up to 67% of the Hill radius are believed to be stable. Consequently, it is possible that even more distant moons of Jupiter may be discovered.

References

  1. IAUC 8087: Satellites of Jupiter 2003 March 4 (discovery)
  2. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. 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)
  4. 4.0 4.1 Mean orbital elements from NASA JPL (August 2006)
  5. 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