Pasiphae (moon)

Pasiphae
Central body	Jupiter
Properties of the orbit
Major semi-axis	23,624,000 km
Periapsis	13,962,000 km
Apoapsis	33,286,000 km
eccentricity	0.4090
Orbit inclination	151.431 °
Orbital time	708 d
Mean orbital velocity	2.31 km / s
Physical Properties
Albedo	0.04
Apparent brightness	17.0 likes
Medium diameter	56 km
Dimensions	≈ 1.92 × 10 17 kg
surface	10,000 km 2
Medium density	2.6 (?) G / cm 3
Acceleration of gravity on the surface	≈ 0.022 m / s 2
Escape speed	≈ 36.5 m / s
Surface temperature	171 K
discovery
Explorer	PJ Melotte
Date of discovery	January 27, 1908

Pasiphae or Pasiphaë (also Jupiter VIII) is one of the outer moons of the planet Jupiter .

discovery

Pasiphae was discovered on January 27, 1908 by the astronomer Philibert Jacques Melotte . It was first found on photographic plates exposed on the night of February 28, 1908 at the Royal Greenwich Observatory ( England ). Examination of other panels showed that the object had already been captured on January 27th. Since it was not initially clear whether it was an asteroid or a moon, it was given the provisional asteroid designation in 1908 CJ . On April 10th, the discovery of an eighth moon near Jupiter was finally confirmed.

The moon was named after Pasiphae , the wife of Minos and mother of the Minotaur from Greek mythology . It received its official name in 1975 , previously it was referred to as Jupiter's moon VIII . Pasiphae is the namesake of a group of Jupiter's moons that move on similar orbits. The Pasiphae group consists of thirteen members, with Pasiphae being the largest.

Orbit data

Pasiphae orbits Jupiter at a mean distance of 23,624,000 km in 743 days, 15 hours and 7 minutes. The track has a strong eccentricity of 0.4090. With an inclination of 151.431 °, the orbit is retrograde ; that is, the moon moves around the planet against the direction of rotation of Jupiter.

Physical data

Pasiphae has a mean diameter of about 60 km. Their density is estimated at 2.6 g / cm³. It is probably made up mainly of silicate rock. Pasiphae has a very dark surface with an albedo of 0.04. Their apparent brightness is 17.0 ^m . The mean temperature on its surface is −102 ° C.

Web links

• Note on the discovery of a Moving Object near Jupiter (1908 CJ) , in: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society , Vol. 68, p.373, March 1908, bibcode : 1908MNRAS..68..373. (Discovery)
• Note on the newly discovered Eighth Satellite of Jupiter, photographed at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich , in: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society , Vol. 68, p. 456–457, April 1908, bibcode : 1908MNRAS..68..456.
• Recent Observations of the Moving Object near Jupiter, Discovered at Greenwich by Mr. J. Melotte , in: Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific , Vol. 20, No. 120, p.184, June 1908, bibcode : 1908PASP ... 20..184M
• IAUC 2846: Satellites of Jupiter October 7, 1975 (designation)

before	Jupiter moons	after that
Elara	Pasiphae	Sinope