S/2022 J 2
S/2022 J 2 is a small outer natural satellite of Jupiter discovered by Scott S. Sheppard on 15 October 2022 using the 6.5-meter Magellan-Baade Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile. It was announced by the Minor Planet Center on 22 February 2023, after observations were collected over a long enough time span to confirm the satellite's orbit.
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Scott S. Sheppard |
| Discovery site | Las Campanas Obs. |
| Discovery date | 15 October 2022 |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 25 February 2023 (JD 2460000.5) | |
| 0.1498228 AU (22,413,170 km) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1820416 |
| –1.88 yr (–685.51 days) | |
| 257.85858° | |
| 0° 31m 30.576s / day | |
| Inclination | 165.39031° (to ecliptic) |
| 148.74603° | |
| 135.21875° | |
| Satellite of | Jupiter |
| Group | Carme group |
| Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter | ≈1 km |
| Albedo | 0.04 (assumed) |
| 23 | |
| 17.6 | |
S/2022 J 2 is part of the Carme group, a tight cluster of retrograde irregular moons of Jupiter that follow similar orbits to Carme at semi-major axes between 22–24 million km (14–15 million mi), orbital eccentricities between 0.2 and 0.3, and inclinations between 163 and 166°. With a diameter of about 1 km (0.62 mi) for an absolute magnitude of 17.6, it is one of Jupiter's smallest known moons with confirmed orbits.