S/2016 J 4

S/2016 J 4
Discovery[1]
Discovered byScott S. Sheppard
Discovery siteLas Campanas Obs.
Discovery date9 March 2016
Orbital characteristics[1][2]
Epoch 25 February 2023 (JD 2460000.5)
Observation arc6.78 yr (2,475 d)
Earliest precovery date5 February 2016
0.1581850 AU (23,664,140 km)
Eccentricity0.1986458
–2.04 yr (–743.69 days)
138.36439°
0° 29m 2.661s / day
Inclination146.25507° (to ecliptic)
309.09022°
302.78410°
Satellite ofJupiter
GroupPasiphae group
Physical characteristics
≈1 km[3]
24.0[3]
17.3[1]

S/2016 J 4 is a small outer natural satellite of Jupiter discovered by Scott S. Sheppard on 9 March 2016, using the 6.5-meter Magellan-Baade Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile. It was announced by the Minor Planet Center on 24 January 2023, after observations were collected over a long enough time span to confirm the satellite's orbit.[1]

S/2016 J 4 is part of the Pasiphae group, a dispersed cluster of distant retrograde irregular moons of Jupiter that follow similar orbits to Pasiphae at semi-major axes between 22–25 million km (14–16 million mi), orbital eccentricities between 0.2–0.6, and inclinations between 140–160°.[3] It has a diameter of about 1 km (0.62 mi) for an absolute magnitude of 17.3, making it one of Jupiter's smallest known moons.[3]

  1. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference MPEC-2023-B96 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference jplsats-disc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference SheppardMoons was invoked but never defined (see the help page).