Thebe (moon)
Thebe /ˈθiːbiː/, also known as Jupiter XIV, is the fourth of Jupiter's moons by distance from the planet. It was discovered by Stephen P. Synnott in images from the Voyager 1 space probe taken on March 5, 1979, while making its flyby of Jupiter. In 1983, it was officially named after the mythological nymph Thebe.
Image of Thebe taken by the Galileo spacecraft on 4 January 2000 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Stephen P. Synnott / Voyager 1 |
| Discovery date | 5 March 1979 |
| Designations | |
| Pronunciation | /ˈθiːbiː/ |
Named after | Θήβη Thēbē |
| Adjectives | Thebean /θiːˈbiːən/ |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Periapsis | 218000 km |
| Apoapsis | 226000 km |
Mean orbit radius | 221889.0±0.6 km (3.11 RJ) |
| Eccentricity | 0.0175±0.0004 |
| 0.674536±0.000001 d (16 h 11.3 min) | |
Average orbital speed | 23.92 km/s (calculated) |
| Inclination | 1.076°±0.003° (to Jupiter's equator) |
| Satellite of | Jupiter |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 116 × 98 × 84 km |
Mean radius | 49.3±2.0 km |
| Volume | ≈ 500000 km3 |
| 0.04 m/s2 (0.004 g) | |
| 20–30m/s | |
| synchronous | |
| zero | |
| Albedo | 0.047±0.003 |
| Temperature | ≈ 124 K |
The second largest of the inner satellites of Jupiter, Thebe orbits within the outer edge of the Thebe gossamer ring that is formed from dust ejected from its surface. It is irregularly shaped and reddish in colour, and is thought like Amalthea to consist of porous water ice with unknown amounts of other materials. Its surface features include large craters and high mountains—some of them are comparable to the size of the moon itself.
Thebe was photographed in 1979 by the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft, and later, in more detail, by the Galileo orbiter in the 1990s.