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Carme (moon) facts for kids

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Carme
Discovery
Discovered by S. B. Nicholson
Discovery date July 30, 1938
Orbital characteristics
Mean orbit radius
23,400,000 km
Eccentricity 0.25
702.28 d (2.045 a)
2.253 km/s
Inclination 164.91° (to the ecliptic)
167.53° (to Jupiter's equator)
Satellite of Jupiter
Physical characteristics
Mean radius
23 km
~6600 km²
Volume ~51,000 km³
Mass 1.3×1017 kg
Mean density
2.6 g/cm³ (assumed)
~0.017 m/s2 (0.0017 g)
~0.028 km/s
Albedo 0.04 (assumed)
Temperature ~124 K

Carme is a retrograde non-spherical moon of Jupiter. It was found by Seth Barnes Nicholson at Mount Wilson Observatory in California in July 1938. It is named after the mythological Carme, mother by Zeus of Britomartis, a Cretan goddess.

Carme did not get its present name until 1975; before then, it was simply known as Jupiter XI. It was sometimes called "Pan" between 1955 and 1975. Note that Pan is now the name of a moon of Saturn.

It gives its name to the Carme group, made up of non-spherical retrograde moons orbiting Jupiter at a distance ranging between 23,000,000 and 24,000,000 km and at an inclination of about 165°. Its orbital elements are as of January 2000. They are changing a lot due to Solar and planetary perturbations.


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See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Carmé (satélite) para niños

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