Orthosie (moon) facts for kids

Orthosie (also called Jupiter XXXV) is a small moon that goes around the giant planet Jupiter. It was discovered in 2001 by a team of astronomers. This team was from the University of Hawaii and was led by Scott S. Sheppard. When it was first found, it was given the temporary name S/2001 J 9.

Facts About Orthosie

Orthosie is quite small, only about 2 kilometres wide. It travels around Jupiter very far away, at an average distance of about 20,568,000 km. It takes Orthosie about 602 days to complete one full trip around Jupiter. This is a long time, almost two years!

Its path around Jupiter is also quite tilted. This tilt is called its inclination. Orthosie's path is tilted about 142 degrees compared to the ecliptic, which is the path the Sun seems to take across the sky. Its orbit is also a bit stretched out, not a perfect circle. This stretched shape is called its orbital eccentricity.

How Orthosie Got Its Name

Orthosie was officially named in August 2003. It got its name from Orthosie, a Greek goddess. She was known as the goddess of prosperity, which means good fortune and success.

Orthosie was also one of the Horae. The Horae were goddesses of the seasons and time. They were said to be the daughters of Zeus, the king of the gods, and Themis, the goddess of divine law and order.

Part of the Ananke Group

Orthosie is part of a group of moons called the Ananke group. These moons are special because they orbit Jupiter in the opposite direction to Jupiter's spin. This is called a retrograde orbit.

The moons in the Ananke group are not round like Earth's Moon. They are also quite far from Jupiter, orbiting between 19,300,000 and 22,700,000 km away. Their orbits are all tilted by about 150 degrees.