Aitne (moon)

Aitne
Discovery images of Aitne by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in December 2001
Discovery[1]
Discovered byScott S. Sheppard et al.
Discovery siteMauna Kea Obs.
Discovery date9 December 2001
Designations
Designation
Jupiter XXXI
Pronunciation/ˈtn/
Named after
Αίτνη Aitnē
S/2001 J 11
AdjectivesAitnean /ɛtˈnən/[2][3]
Orbital characteristics[4]
23231000 km
Eccentricity0.264
−712.04 days[5]
153.9°
Inclination165.1°
24.5°
122.2°
Satellite ofJupiter
GroupCarme group
Physical characteristics
3 km
22.7
16.0[5]

Aitne /ˈtn/, also known as Jupiter XXXI, is a retrograde irregular satellite of Jupiter. It was discovered by a team of astronomers from the University of Hawaii led by Scott S. Sheppard in 2001, and given the temporary designation S/2001 J 11.[6][1] Aitne belongs to the Carme group, made up of irregular retrograde moons orbiting Jupiter at a distance ranging between 23 and 24 Gm and at an inclination of about 165°.

Aitne is about 3 kilometres in diameter, and orbits Jupiter at an average distance of 22,285,000 km in 712.04 days, at an inclination of 166° to the ecliptic (164° to Jupiter's equator), in a retrograde direction and with an eccentricity of 0.393.

It was named in August 2003[7] after Aitna or Aitne, the divine personification of Mount Etna, whose sons by Zeus (Jupiter) are the Palici, the twin Sicilian gods of geysers (other authors have them descend from Thalia and/or Hephaistos).

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference MPEC2002-J54 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ as Ætnea William Lithgow (1770) Travels and Voyages, 11th ed., p. 361
  3. ^ "Etnean". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on March 22, 2020.
  4. ^ S.S. Sheppard (2019), Moons of Jupiter, Carnegie Science, on line
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference MPC115891 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference IAUC7900 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ IAUC 8177: Satellites of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus Archived 2008-07-09 at the Wayback Machine 2003 August (naming the moon)