Harpalyke

Harpalyke, previously known as S/2000 J5, is one of Jupiter’s 60+ natural satellites. This moon was discovered in 2000 by Scott S. Sheppard, David C. Jewitt, Yan Fernandez and Gene Magnier. Harpalyke has an eccentric, irregular orbit (see here) of 623.3 days.

This moon has a diameter of 4 kilometers. Its mean distance from Jupiter is 21,110,000 kilometers. Harpalyke was discovered using the 2.2-meter telescope on Mauna Kea, operated by the University of Hawaii.

The International Astronomical Union named the satellite after “a hunter-warrior goddess of the night who had a stable of sacred mares that she could outrun,” continuing the tradition of naming Jovian satellites after lovers or family members of lovers of the mythological god Zeus by now including. This practice of naming Jovian satellites after lovers of Zeus began in 1613, but astronomers have since run out of lovers of Zeus and have turned to “children or relatives of the lovers” to provide a whole new group of names from which to choose.

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This entry also posted in the American Military University Introduction to Astronomy newsgroup.

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