Praxidike (moon)

Praxidike (/prækˈsɪdᵻkiː/ prak-SID-ə-kee; Greek: Πραξιδίκη), also known as Jupiter XXVII, is a retrograde irregular satellite of Jupiter. It was discovered by a team of astronomers from the University of Hawaii led by Scott S. Sheppard in 2000, and given the temporary designation S/2000 J 7.

Praxidike orbits Jupiter at an average distance of 20,824 Mm in 613.904 days, at an inclination of 144° to the ecliptic (143° to Jupiter's equator), in a retrograde direction and with an eccentricity of 0.1840.

It was named in August 2003 after Praxidike, the Greek goddess of punishment.

Praxidike belongs to the Ananke group, believed to be the remnants of a break-up of a captured heliocentric asteroid. With an estimated diameter of 7 km, Praxidike is the second largest member of the group after Ananke itself (assumed albedo of 0.04).

The satellite appears grey (colour indices B-V=0.77, R-V= 0.34), typical of C-type asteroids.