Discovered by S. B. Nicholson Adjectives Lysithean Eccentricity 0.11 Orbital period 259 days Mean radius 18,000 m Discoverer Seth Barnes Nicholson | Discovery date July 6, 1938 Mean orbit radius 11,720,000 km Average orbital speed 3.29 km/s Discovered 6 July 1938 Orbits Jupiter Discovery site Mount Wilson Observatory | |
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Similar Seth Barnes Nicholson discoveries, Jupiter moons, Other celestial objects | ||
Lysithea (/laɪˈsɪθiə/ ly-SITH-ee-ə, /lᵻˈsɪθiə/ li-SITH-ee-ə; Greek: Λυσιθέα) 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, five 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.
References
Lysithea (moon) Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA