Leda (moon)

Leda, also known as , is one of the innermost and larger of irregular satellite of Jupiter.

Discovery and Naming

It was discovered by Charles T. Kowal at the Mount Palomar Observatory on September 14, 1974, after three nights' worth of photographic plates had been taken.
It was named after Leda, who was raped by Zeus, the Greek equivalent of Jupiter. Kowal suggested the name and the IAU endorsed it in 1975.

Orbit

Leda orbits Jupiter at an average distance of 11,195,980 km km in 242.02 days, at an inclination of about 28° to the ecliptic, in a prograde direction and with an eccentricity of 0.165.
Leda belongs to the Himalia group, a prograde group of moons orbiting between 11 and 13 million km from Jupiter at inclinations between 27 and 30°, and eccentricities between 0.11 and 0.24.

Physical characteristics

Leda has a diameter of about 21.5 kilometers, with a measured albedo of about 3,4%., making it smallest of Jupiter's classic irregular moons.
Like the other members of the Himalia group, the satellite appears gray, which is typical for C-type asteroids.

Origin

Leda probably did not form near Jupiter but was captured by Jupiter later.Like the other members of the Himaila group, which have similar orbits, Leda is probably the remnant of a broken, captured heliocentric asteroid.