Cyllene (moon)

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Cyllene (sə-lee'-nee, ; Greek Κυλλήνη), or , is a natural satellite of Jupiter. It was discovered by a team of astronomers from the University of Hawaii led by Scott S. Sheppard in 2003, receiving the temporary designation .

Cyllene is about 2 kilometres in diameter, and orbits Jupiter at an average distance of 23,396 Mm in 731.099 days, at an inclination of 140° to the ecliptic (140° to Jupiter's equator), in a retrograde direction and with an eccentricity of 0.4116.

It was named in March 2005 after Cyllene, a naiad (stream nymph) or oread (mountain nymph) associated with Mount Kyllini, Greece. She was a daughter of Zeus (Jupiter).

It belongs to the Pasiphaë 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°.

References

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Last updated on Monday July 21, 2008 at 22:06:19 PDT (GMT -0700)
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