Discovery [1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by |
Scott S. Sheppard David J. Tholen Chad Trujillo |
Discovery site | Mauna Kea Obs. |
Discovery date | 5 September 2021 |
Orbital characteristics [1] [2] | |
Epoch 25 February 2023 ( JD 2460000.5) | |
Observation arc | 12.04 yr (4,396 d) |
Earliest precovery date | 2 October 2010 |
0.1566013 AU (23,427,220 km) | |
Eccentricity | 0.3625334 |
–2.01 yr (–732.55 days) | |
77.36574 ° | |
0° 29m 29.162s / day | |
Inclination | 166.49991° (to ecliptic) |
172.60903° | |
254.84930° | |
Satellite of | Jupiter |
Group | Carme group |
Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter | ≈1 km [3] |
23.9 [3] | |
17.3 [1] | |
S/2021 J 6 is a small outer natural satellite of Jupiter discovered by Scott S. Sheppard, David J. Tholen, and Chad Trujillo on 5 September 2021, using the 8.2-meter Subaru Telescope at Mauna Kea Observatory, Hawaii. It was announced by the Minor Planet Center on 20 January 2023, after observations were collected over a long enough time span to confirm the satellite's orbit. [1] The satellite has been found in precovery observations as early as 2 October 2010. [1]
S/2021 J 6 is part of the Carme group, a tight cluster of retrograde irregular moons of Jupiter that follow similar orbits to Carme at semi-major axes between 22–24 million km (14–15 million mi), orbital eccentricities between 0.2–0.3, and inclinations between 163–166°. [3] It has a diameter of about 1 km (0.62 mi) for an absolute magnitude of 17.3, making it one of Jupiter's smallest known moons. [3]