Carme (moon)
Carme is one of the largest irregular satellites of Jupiter.
Discovery and Naming
It was discovered by Seth Barnes Nicholson at Mount Wilson Observatory in California in July 1938.It is named after the mythological Carme, mother by Zeus of Britomartis, a Cretan goddess.
Carme did not receive its present name until 1975; before then, it was simply known as . It was sometimes called "Pan" between 1955 and 1975.
Orbit
Carme orbits Jupiter at an average distance of 22,579,859 km in 693.17 days, at an inclination of 165° to the ecliptic, in a retrograde direction and with an eccentricity of 0.23. They are continuously changing due to solar and planetary perturbations.It gives its name to the Carme group, made up a tightly of irregular retrograde moons orbiting Jupiter at a distance ranging between 22.7–23.5 million km, at an inclination of about 165°, and eccentricities between 0.24 and 0.28.
Physical characteristics
With a diameter of, it is the largest member of the Carme group and the fourth largest irregular moon of Jupiter.Like the other members of the Carme group it is light red in color, similar to D-type asteroids.
The rotation period is approximately 10 hours and 24 min.