S/2016 J 3

S/2016 J 3
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 arc6.53 yr (2,384 d)
0.1484883 AU (22,213,530 km)
Eccentricity0.2360219
–1.85 yr (–676.37 days)
1.36683°
0° 31m 56.119s / day
Inclination164.06576° (to ecliptic)
130.09696°
192.07894°
Satellite ofJupiter
GroupCarme group
Physical characteristics
≈2 km[3]
Albedo0.04 (assumed)[3]
23.6[3]
16.7[1]

S/2016 J 3 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 7 years later on 5 January 2023, after observations were collected over a long enough time span to confirm the satellite's orbit.[1]

S/2016 J 3 is part of the Carme group, a tight cluster of retrograde irregular moons of Jupiter that follow similar orbits to Carme at semi-major axes between 22–24 million km (14–15 million mi), orbital eccentricities between 0.2–0.3, and inclinations between 163–166°.[3] It has a diameter of about 2 km (1.2 mi) for an absolute magnitude of 16.7.[3]

  1. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference MPEC-2023-A13 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 e Cite error: The named reference SheppardMoons was invoked but never defined (see the help page).