Praxidike /prækˈsɪdək/, also known as Jupiter XXVII, 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 in 2000,[7][1] and given the temporary designation S/2000 J 7.

Praxidike
Praxidike imaged by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in December 2001
Discovery[1]
Discovered byScott S. Sheppard et al.
Discovery siteMauna Kea Obs.
Discovery date23 November 2000
Designations
Designation
Jupiter XXVII
Pronunciation/prækˈsɪdək/[2]
Named after
Πραξιδίκη Praxidikē
S/2000 J 7
AdjectivesPraxidikean /ˌpræksədəˈkən/[3]
Orbital characteristics[4]
21147000 km
Eccentricity0.230
−609.25 days[5]
21.8°
Inclination149.0°
285.2°
209.7°
Satellite ofJupiter
GroupAnanke group
Physical characteristics
7.0±0.7 km[6]
Albedo0.029±0.006[6]
21.2

It was named in August 2003 after Praxidike,[8] the Greek goddess of punishment.

Orbit

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Praxidike observed by the WISE spacecraft in 2010

Praxidike orbits Jupiter at an average distance of 20,824,000 km in 609.25 days, at an inclination of 144° to the ecliptic (143° to Jupiter's equator), in a retrograde direction and with an eccentricity of 0.1840.

Praxidike belongs to the Ananke group, believed to be the remnants of a break-up of a captured heliocentric asteroid.[9][10] With an estimated diameter of 7 km, Praxidike is the second largest member of the group after Ananke itself (assumed albedo of 0.04).[11]

Characteristics

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The satellite appears grey (colour indices B-V=0.77, R-V= 0.34), typical of C-type asteroids.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b MPEC 2001-A29: S/2000 J 7, S/2000 J 8, S/2000 J 9, S/2000 J 10, S/2000 J 11 January 15, 2001 (discovery and ephemeris)
  2. ^ as 'Praxidice' in Noah Webster (1884) A Practical Dictionary of the English Language
  3. ^ There is also 'Praxidician' /præksəˈdɪʃiən/, as in the 'Praxidician goddesses' that include Praxidice, but this does not derive from the name Praxidice itself.
  4. ^ S.S. Sheppard (2019), Moons of Jupiter, Carnegie Science, on line
  5. ^ "M.P.C. 104798" (PDF). Minor Planet Circular. Minor Planet Center. 10 May 2017.
  6. ^ a b Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Mainzer, A. K.; Masiero, J. R.; Nugent, C. R.; Cutri, R. M.; et al. (August 2015). "NEOWISE: Observations of the Irregular Satellites of Jupiter and Saturn" (PDF). The Astrophysical Journal. 809 (1): 9. Bibcode:2015ApJ...809....3G. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/809/1/3. S2CID 5834661. 3.
  7. ^ IAUC 7555: Satellites of Jupiter January 5, 2001 (discovery)
  8. ^ IAUC 7998: Satellites of Jupiter 2002 October 22 (naming the moon)
  9. ^ Sheppard, S. S., Jewitt, D. C.; An Abundant Population of Small Irregular Satellites Around Jupiter Archived 2003-08-05 at the Wayback Machine, Nature, Vol. 423 (May 2003), pp. 261-263
  10. ^ Nesvorný, D.; Alvarellos, J. L. A.; Dones, L.; and Levison, H. F.; Orbital and Collisional Evolution of the Irregular Satellites, The Astronomical Journal, Vol. 126 (2003), pp. 398–429
  11. ^ Sheppard, S. S.; Jewitt, D. C.; Porco, C.; Jupiter's Outer Satellites and Trojans Archived 2009-09-20 at the Wayback Machine, in Jupiter: The Planet, Satellites and Magnetosphere, edited by Fran Bagenal, Timothy E. Dowling, and William B. McKinnon, Cambridge Planetary Science, Vol. 1, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-81808-7, 2004, pp. 263-280
  12. ^ Grav, T.; Holman, M. J.; Gladman, B. J.; Aksnes, K.; Photometric Survey of the Irregular Satellites, Icarus, Vol. 166 (2003), pp. 33-45
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