S/2003 J 5 facts for kids

S/2003 J 5 is a small, non-round moon that goes around the giant planet Jupiter. It was found by a group of scientists from the University of Hawaii in 2003. This team was led by a person named Scott S. Sheppard.

About S/2003 J 5

S/2003 J 5 is one of the many moons orbiting Jupiter. It is not shaped like a perfect ball, which is common for smaller moons.

How Big Is It?

This moon is about 4 kilometers (about 2.5 miles) wide. To give you an idea, that's roughly the length of 40 football fields!

Its Journey Around Jupiter

S/2003 J 5 travels around Jupiter at an average distance of about 23,974,000 kilometers (nearly 15 million miles). It takes a long time to complete one trip around Jupiter – about 758 days, which is more than two Earth years!

The path it takes around Jupiter is not a perfect circle; it's a bit stretched out. Scientists call this an orbital eccentricity, and for S/2003 J 5, it's 0.307.

The moon's path is also tilted quite a bit compared to Jupiter's equator. This tilt is called its Orbital inclination, and for S/2003 J 5, it's about 167 degrees. This means it orbits Jupiter in the opposite direction to most of Jupiter's other moons. This kind of orbit is called a retrograde orbit.

Part of the Carme Group

S/2003 J 5 belongs to a family of moons called the Carme group. This group is made up of moons that are not round and orbit Jupiter in a backward direction (retrograde).

These moons are all found at similar distances from Jupiter, usually between 23,000,000 and 24,000,000 kilometers. They also have a similar tilt in their orbits, around 165 degrees.

See also

In Spanish: Eirene (satélite) para niños