Discovered 11 December 2001 | ||
Similar Scott S Sheppard discoveries, Jupiter moons, Other celestial objects | ||
Thyone (/θaɪˈoʊniː/ thy-OH-nee; Greek: Θυώνη), also known as Jupiter XXIX, 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, et al. in 2001, and given the temporary designation S/2001 J 2.
Thyone is about 4 kilometres in diameter, and orbits Jupiter at an average distance of 21.406 million kilometres in 639.803 days, at an inclination of 147° to the ecliptic (147° to Jupiter's equator) with an eccentricity of 0.2526. Its average orbital speed is 2.43 km/s.
It was named in August 2003 after Thyone, better known as Semele, mother of Dionysus in Greek mythology.
Thyone belongs to the Ananke group, retrograde irregular moons which orbit Jupiter between 19.3 and 22.7 million kilometres, at inclinations of roughly 150°.