Kore (moon) facts for kids

Kore, also known as Jupiter XLIX, is one of the many moons that orbit the giant planet Jupiter. Scientists found this small moon in 2003. A team of astronomers from the University of Hawaii, led by Scott S. Sheppard, made this exciting discovery. When they first found it, they gave it a temporary name: S/2003 J 14.

Discovering Kore

Astronomers are always looking for new objects in space. In 2003, a group of scientists used powerful telescopes to search the area around Jupiter. They found Kore, which was a big moment for space exploration! Finding new moons helps us learn more about how our solar system formed.

Kore's Size and Orbit

Kore is a very small moon, only about 2 kilometers (about 1.2 miles) wide. That's roughly the size of a small town! It travels around Jupiter quite far away, at an average distance of about 23,239,000 kilometers (about 14.4 million miles).

It takes Kore a long time to complete one trip around Jupiter. It takes about 724 days, which is almost two full Earth years! Kore's path around Jupiter is also a bit tilted. This tilt is called its inclination, and it's about 141 degrees compared to the main plane of the solar system. Its orbit is also not a perfect circle; it's a bit stretched out, which scientists call its orbital eccentricity.

What is the Pasiphae Group?

Kore is part of a group of moons called the Pasiphae group. These moons are special because they are not shaped like perfect spheres. Instead, they have irregular shapes, like potatoes! All the moons in this group also orbit Jupiter in a "retrograde" direction. This means they move in the opposite direction to Jupiter's spin. Scientists believe these moons might be pieces of a larger asteroid that broke apart a long time ago.

How Kore Got Its Name

After a moon is discovered, it usually gets a temporary name. Later, it receives an official name. Kore was named after a figure from ancient Greek stories. Kore is another name for the goddess Persephone. In Greek mythology, Persephone was the daughter of Demeter, the goddess of harvest. The name "Kore" itself means "daughter" in Greek.

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