| Object type | Irregular, retrograde moon of Jupiter[1] |
|---|---|
| Group | Pasiphae group[1] |
| Discovered | Dec. 10, 2001, Mauna Kea, Hawaii[2] |
| Discoverers | S. S. Sheppard, D. C. Jewitt, J. T. Kleyna[2] |
| Named | August 2003[1] |
| Diameter | ≈ 4 km (assuming albedo 0.04)[1] |
| Brightness | Apparent magnitude ≈ 22[1] |
| Colour | Light red (B–V 0.72, V–R 0.51)[1] |
| Mean distance | ≈ 23.8 million km from Jupiter[3] |
| Orbital period | ≈ 750 days[3] |
| Inclination | ≈ 151° (retrograde)[3] |
| Eccentricity | ≈ 0.33[3] |
One of the outermost
Autonoe is one of Jupiter’s outermost irregular moons, orbiting backwards at an average of 23.8 million km.[1][3]
The Pasiphae group
Its orbit resembles that of the larger moon Pasiphae, making it a member of the Pasiphae group — thought to be fragments of a body captured by Jupiter and broken by a collision billions of years ago.[1]
The wrong colour?
Pasiphae is grey (B−V 0.74, V−R 0.38), but Autonoe is light red (B–V 0.72, V–R 0.51), like Megaclite and Sinope.[1] It could be an independent object captured separately, unrelated to the collision that formed the group.[1]
Found in December 2001
Autonoe was found on 10 December 2001 by Scott Sheppard, David Jewitt and Jan Kleyna at Mauna Kea.[2] It was one of eleven Jovian moons found by the team that month.[1]
Orbit
Autonoe’s distance from Jupiter varies from about 16.0 to 31.5 million km over a 750-day orbit, and the orbit itself changes due to the Sun and other planets.[3][1]
The name
Named in August 2003, Autonoe honours a figure from Greek myth said by some authors to be the mother of the Charites (Graces) by Zeus.[1]
Read more
Sources
- Autonoe (moon) — Wikipedia
- Autonoe — NASA Science
- Planetary Satellite Mean Elements — NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics
- Pasiphae group — Wikipedia
- Scott S. Sheppard — Wikipedia
Figures are rounded; where sources differ we note it. Spotted an error? Tell us.