S/2003 J 23
Discovery image of S/2003 J 23 by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in February 2003
Discovery [1]
Discovered byScott S. Sheppard et al.
Discovery siteMauna Kea Obs.
Discovery date6 February 2003 (imaged)
January 2004 (announced)
Orbital characteristics [2]
Epoch 17 December 2020 (JD 2459200.5)
Observation arc14.22 yr (5,193 d)
0.1649635 AU (24,678,190 km)
Eccentricity0.3207567
–2.17 yr (–792.00 d)
257.08447°
0° 27m 16.361s / day
Inclination146.15464° (to ecliptic)
142.40639°
295.73090°
Satellite ofJupiter
GroupPasiphae group
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
≈2 km[3]
Albedo0.04 (assumed)[3]
23.6[3]
16.6[2]

S/2003 J 23 is a natural satellite of Jupiter. It was discovered by a team of astronomers from the University of Hawaii led by Scott S. Sheppard et al. in 2004 from pictures taken in 2003.[4][1]

S/2003 J 23 is about 2 kilometres in diameter, and orbits Jupiter at an average distance of 24,700 Mm in about 792 days, at an inclination of 146° to the ecliptic, in a retrograde direction and with an eccentricity of 0.321.

It belongs to the Pasiphae group, irregular retrograde moons orbiting Jupiter at distances ranging between 22.8 and 24.1 Gm, and with inclinations ranging between 144.5° and 158.3°.

Animation of discovery images taken on 6 February 2003
Recovery images of S/2003 J 23 taken by the CFHT on 24 February 2017

This moon was considered lost[5][6][7][8] until late 2020, when it was recovered by Sheppard and independently by amateur astronomer Kai Ly.[9] The recovery of the moon was announced by the Minor Planet Center on 13 January 2021, while additional recovery observations by Sheppard were later published on 27 January 2021.[10][2]

References

  1. ^ a b MPEC 2004-B81: S/2003 J 23 2004 January 31 (discovery and ephemeris)
  2. ^ a b c "MPEC 2021-B136 : S/2003 J 23". Minor Planet Electronic Circular. Minor Planet Center. 27 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  3. ^ a b c S.S. Sheppard (2019), Moons of Jupiter, Carnegie Science, on line
  4. ^ IAUC 8281: S/2003 J 23 2004 February 4 (discovery)
  5. ^ Beatty, Kelly (4 April 2012). "Outer-Planet Moons Found — and Lost". www.skyandtelescope.com. Sky & Telescope. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  6. ^ Brozović, Marina; Jacobson, Robert A. (9 March 2017). "The Orbits of Jupiter's Irregular Satellites". The Astronomical Journal. 153 (4): 147. Bibcode:2017AJ....153..147B. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/aa5e4d.
  7. ^ Jacobson, B.; Brozović, M.; Gladman, B.; Alexandersen, M.; Nicholson, P. D.; Veillet, C. (28 September 2012). "Irregular Satellites of the Outer Planets: Orbital Uncertainties and Astrometric Recoveries in 2009–2011". The Astronomical Journal. 144 (5): 132. Bibcode:2012AJ....144..132J. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/144/5/132. S2CID 123117568.
  8. ^ Sheppard, Scott S. (2017). "New Moons of Jupiter Announced in 2017". home.dtm.ciw.edu. Retrieved 27 June 2017. We likely have all of the lost moons in our new observations from 2017, but to link them back to the remaining lost 2003 objects requires more observations a year later to confirm the linkages, which will not happen until early 2018. ... There are likely a few more new moons as well in our 2017 observations, but we need to reobserve them in 2018 to determine which of the discoveries are new and which are lost 2003 moons.
  9. ^ Hecht, Jeff (2021-01-11). "Amateur Astronomer Finds "Lost" Moons of Jupiter". www.skyandtelescope.com. Sky & Telescope. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  10. ^ "MPEC 2021-A168 : S/2003 J 23". Minor Planet Electronic Circular. Minor Planet Center. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
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