S/2021 J 3

S/2021 J 3
Discovery[1]
Discovered byScott S. Sheppard
Discovery siteLas Campanas Obs.
Discovery date12 August 2021
Orbital characteristics[1][2]
Epoch 25 February 2023 (JD 2460000.5)
Observation arc1.17 yr (429 d)
0.1436897 AU (21,495,670 km)
Eccentricity0.3556841
–1.76 yr (–643.85 days)
64.69138°
0° 33m 32.902s / day
Inclination150.10358° (to ecliptic)
230.78156°
291.11314°
Satellite ofJupiter
GroupAnanke group
Physical characteristics
≈2 km[3]
23.8[3]
17.2[1]

S/2021 J 3 is a small outer natural satellite of Jupiter discovered by Scott S. Sheppard on 12 August 2021, using the 6.5-meter Magellan-Baade Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile. It was announced by the Minor Planet Center on 19 January 2023, after observations were collected over a long enough time span to confirm the satellite's orbit.[1]

S/2021 J 3 is part of the Ananke group, a cluster of retrograde irregular moons of Jupiter that follow similar orbits to Ananke at semi-major axes between 19–22 million km (12–14 million mi), orbital eccentricities between 0.1–0.4, and inclinations between 139–155°.[3] It has a diameter of about 2 km (1.2 mi) for an absolute magnitude of 17.2.[3]

  1. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference MPEC-2023-B39 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).