S/2003 J 9
S/2003 J 9 is a retrograde irregular satellite of Jupiter. It was discovered by a team of astronomers from the University of Hawaii led by Scott S. Sheppard in 2003.
S/2003 J 9 imaged by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope during follow-up observations in February 2003 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Scott S. Sheppard David C. Jewitt Jan T. Kleyna Yanga R. Fernández |
| Discovery site | Mauna Kea Obs. |
| Discovery date | 6 February 2003 |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 17 December 2020 (JD 2459200.5) | |
| Observation arc | 15.19 yr (5,545 d) |
| 0.1615575 AU (24,168,660 km) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1701900 |
| 2.10 yr (767.60 d) | |
| 109.89836° | |
| 0° 28m 8.381s / day | |
| Inclination | 166.33403° (to ecliptic) 13.66597° (retrograde) |
| 130.59522° | |
| 45.62861° | |
| Satellite of | Jupiter |
| Group | Carme group |
| Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter | ≈1 km |
| Albedo | 0.04 (assumed) |
| 23.7 | |
| 16.9 | |
S/2003 J 9 is about 1 kilometre in diameter, and orbits Jupiter at an average distance of 0.162 AU (24,200,000 km) in 767.60 days, at an inclination of 166.3° to the ecliptic (166° to Jupiter's equator), in a retrograde direction and with an eccentricity of 0.17.
It belongs to the Carme group, made up of irregular retrograde moons orbiting Jupiter at a distance ranging between 23 and 24 Gm and at an inclination of about 165°.
This moon was once considered lost until November 2020, when the Minor Planet Center announced the recovery of S/2003 J 9 by Scott Sheppard in observations from September 2011 to April 2018.