Thelxinoe (moon) facts for kids
Thelxinoe or Jupiter XLII is a small moon that goes around Jupiter. It's one of the many moons orbiting the giant planet.
Thelxinoe was found by a team of scientists from the University of Hawaii. This team was led by Scott S. Sheppard. They discovered it in 2004 by looking at pictures taken in 2003. When it was first found, it had a temporary name: S/2003 J 22.
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About Thelxinoe
Thelxinoe is a pretty small moon, only about 2 kilometers (about 1.2 miles) wide. That's roughly the size of a small town!
Thelxinoe's Orbit Around Jupiter
This moon travels around Jupiter at an average distance of 20,454,000 kilometers (about 12.7 million miles). It takes Thelxinoe 597.607 days to complete one full trip around Jupiter. That's almost two Earth years!
The path it takes around Jupiter is not perfectly flat. Its orbit is tilted by about 151 degrees compared to the ecliptic (the path the Sun seems to take across the sky). It's tilted about 153 degrees compared to Jupiter's own equator. Thelxinoe's orbit is also a bit stretched out, which scientists call an orbital eccentricity of 0.2685.
How Thelxinoe Got Its Name
In March 2005, this moon was officially named Thelxinoe. The name comes from Thelxinoe, a figure in ancient Greek stories. According to some Greek writers, Thelxinoe was one of the four original Muses. The Muses were goddesses of arts and sciences. She was also said to be a daughter of Zeus (who the Romans called Jupiter) and Mnemosyne.
The Ananke Group
Thelxinoe 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. Also, these moons are not perfectly round (non-spherical).
Moons in the Ananke group orbit Jupiter at distances between 19,300,000 and 22,700,000 kilometers. Their orbits are usually tilted by about 150 degrees.
