Isonoe.space

Irregular moon of Jupiter (retrograde) · Outer Jovian system · Carme group

Isonoe

Jupiter XXVI · S/2000 J 6

A light-red, four-kilometre moon named after one of the fifty daughters of Danaus.

Key factsSpace model picker
Isonoe at a glance
Object typeIrregular, retrograde moon of Jupiter[1]
GroupCarme group[1]
DiscoveredNov. 23, 2000, Mauna Kea, Hawaii[2]
NamedOctober 2002, after Isonoe, one of the Danaïdes[1]
Diameter≈ 4 km (assuming 4% albedo)[1]
ColourLight red (B–V 0.78, V–R 0.53)[1]
Mean distance≈ 23.0 million km from Jupiter[3]
Orbital period≈ 712 days[3]
Inclination≈ 165° (retrograde)[3]
Eccentricity≈ 0.25[3]

A little retrograde moon

Isonoe is a small retrograde irregular moon of Jupiter, found by Scott Sheppard’s team in 2000 as S/2000 J 6.[1] Its estimated diameter is about 4 km, assuming an albedo of 4%.[1]

Light red

Like most Carme-group moons, Isonoe is light red (B–V 0.78, V–R 0.53), similar to D-type asteroids.[1]

A captured fragment

Isonoe probably did not form near Jupiter. Like its Carme-group siblings, it is probably the remnant of a broken, captured asteroid.[1] NASA suggests that asteroid may have come from the Hilda family or the Jupiter trojans.[2]

Named for a Danaïd

In October 2002 the moon was named after Isonoe, one of the Danaïdes and a lover of Zeus.[1] The Danaïdes were the fifty daughters of Danaus, king of Libya.[4]

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Orbit

Isonoe orbits backwards between roughly 17.3 and 28.7 million km from Jupiter, once every 712 days.[3]

Jupiter Callisto (1.88 million km)Himalia (11.44 million km) farthest ≈ 28.7 million km closest ≈ 17.3 million km
Top-down orbit of Isonoe to scale, computed from JPL orbital elements (a ≈ 22.98 million km, e ≈ 0.249).[3] Callisto and Himalia orbits shown for comparison.[3] Mean orbital elements; the real orbit is tilted steeply and shifts over time, so this top-down view flattens it onto one plane.

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The Danaïdes: fifty sisters and a water jar

The myth of the family that gave Isonoe its name.

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Did Isonoe start out as a Hilda asteroid?

The 3:2 resonance family that may have supplied Jupiter’s Carme moons.

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How far out is Isonoe? A sense of scale

Comparing Isonoe’s orbit with Jupiter’s big moon Callisto.

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Sources

  1. Isonoe (moon) — Wikipedia
  2. Isonoe — NASA Science
  3. Planetary Satellite Mean Elements — NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics
  4. Danaïdes — Wikipedia
  5. Hilda asteroid — Wikipedia

Figures are rounded; where sources differ we note it. Spotted an error? Tell us.