Helike (moon) facts for kids

Helike or Jupiter XLV, is a moon of Jupiter. It was found by a team of astronomers from the University of Hawaii led by Scott S. Sheppard in 2003, and given the designation S/2003 J 6.

Helike is about 4 kilometres in diameter, and orbits Jupiter at an average distance of 20,540,000 km in 601.402 Earth days, at an inclination of 155° to the ecliptic (156° to Jupiter's equator), with an orbital eccentricity of 0.1375.

It was named in March 2005 after Helike, one of the nymphs that nurtured Zeus (Jupiter) in his infancy on Crete.

Helike belongs to the Ananke group, retrograde non-spherical moons which orbit Jupiter between 19,300,000 and 22,700,000 km, at inclinations of about 150°.

See also

In Spanish: Heliké (satélite) para niños