Valetudo (moon)

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For other uses, see Valetudo.
Valetudo
Precovery images of Valetudo taken by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on 28 February 2003
Discovery[1]
Discovered byScott S. Sheppard et al.
Discovery siteLas Campanas Obs.
Discovery date9 March 2016
Designations
Designation
Jupiter LXII
Pronunciation/væləˈtjuːdoʊ/
Named after
Valētūdo
S/2016 J 2
AdjectivesValetudian
Orbital characteristics [2]
Epoch 17 December 2020 (JD 2459200.5)
Observation arc15.22 yr (5,558 d)
Earliest precovery date26 February 2003
0.1257974 AU (18,819,020 km)
Eccentricity0.2018315
+1.44 yr (+527.41 d)
201.41718°
0° 40m 57.274s / day
Inclination32.03294° (to the ecliptic)
235.45916°
122.37546°
Satellite ofJupiter
Group(own group)
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
1 km[3]
24.0[3]
17.0

Valetudo /væləˈtjuːdoʊ/, also known as Jupiter LXII and originally known as S/2016 J 2, is an irregular moon of Jupiter. It was discovered by Scott S. Sheppard and his team in data acquired by the 6.5-m Magellan-Baade telescope of the Las Campanas Observatory in 2016, but was not announced until 17 July 2018, via a Minor Planet Electronic Circular from the Minor Planet Center, which also reported the discovery of nine other of Jupiter's moons.[1] Besides data from Las Campanas, the original announcement also referred to data acquired through the 8.1-m Gemini North telescope of the Mauna Kea Observatories as well as the 4.0-m reflector of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory.[4]

Characteristics[edit]

Visualization of the orbits of Jupiter moons. Valetudo's orbit is depicted in green, moving clockwise.
Valetudo (bottom right) in the context of other irregular moons of planets within the Solar System. Jupiter moons are indicated in red and can be clustered into five groups plus the solitary moons Valetudo and Themisto, which suggests that the current Jupiter moons originate from at least seven different outer moons.[5]

Valetudo has a diameter of about 1 km (0.6 mi) and orbits Jupiter at a distance of about 19 million kilometres (12 million miles). Its orbital inclination is 34 degrees, and its orbital eccentricity is 0.222.[3] It has a prograde orbit which takes almost a year and a half to complete, but it crosses paths with several other moons that have retrograde orbits and may in the future collide with them.[6]

Name[edit]

The moon was provisionally designated as S/2016 J 2 until it received its name in 2018. Sheppard proposed the name Valetudo, after the Roman goddess of health and hygiene (a Latin translation of Greek Hygieia 'Health') and a great-granddaughter of the god Jupiter. The name also alluded to Sheppard's girlfriend, whom he joked about being cleanly.[7] The name conforms with the naming conventions for Jupiter moons set out by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), according to which a name ending in -o indicates a high inclination.[8] The name was approved by the IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature on 3 October 2018.[9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "MPEC 2018-O09 : S/2016 J 2". Minor Planet Center. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  2. ^ "M.P.C. 128893" (PDF). Minor Planet Circular. Minor Planet Center. 27 January 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Sheppard, Scott S. "Moons of Jupiter". sites.google.com. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  4. ^ "A dozen new moons of Jupiter discovered, including one "oddball"". Earth & Planets Laboratory. Carnegie Institution for Science. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  5. ^ Sheppard, Scott S.; Tholen, David J.; Alexandersen, Mike; Trujillo, Chadwick A. (24 May 2023). "New Jupiter and Saturn Satellites Reveal New Moon Dynamical Families". Research Notes of the AAS. 7 (5): 100. doi:10.3847/2515-5172/acd766.
  6. ^ Strickland, Ashley. "12 new moons discovered around Jupiter". CNN International. CNN. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  7. ^ Carlson, Erika K. (17 July 2018). "Jupiter's Got Twelve New Moons — One is a Bit of a Problem Child". Discover Magazine. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  8. ^ Antonietta Barucci, M. (2008). "Irregular Satellites of the Giant Planets" (PDF). In M. Antonietta Barucci; Hermann Boehnhardt; Dale P. Cruikshank; Alessandro Morbidelli (eds.). The Solar System Beyond Neptune. p. 414. ISBN 9780816527557. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  9. ^ USGS Astrogeology Science Center, Nomenclature News: Name Approved for Jovian Satellite: Valetudo
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