Valetudo (moon)

Valetudo
Precovery images of Valetudo taken by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on 28 February 2003
Discovery[1]
Discovered byScott S. Sheppard et al.
Discovery siteLas Campanas Obs.
Discovery date9 March 2016
Designations
Designation
Jupiter LXII
Pronunciation/væləˈtjd/
Named after
Roman name for the Greek goddess, Hygieia
S/2016 J 2
AdjectivesValetudian
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 17 December 2020 (JD 2459200.5)
Observation arc15.22 yr (5,558 d)
Earliest precovery date26 February 2003
0.1257974 AU (18,819,020 km)
Eccentricity0.2018315
+1.44 yr (+527.41 d)
201.41718°
0° 40m 57.274s / day
Inclination32.03294° (to the ecliptic)
235.45916°
122.37546°
Satellite ofJupiter
Group(own group)
Physical characteristics
1 km[3]
24.0[3]
17.0

Valetudo /væləˈtjd/, also known as Jupiter LXII and originally known as S/2016 J 2, is an irregular moon of Jupiter. It was discovered by Scott S. Sheppard and his team in data acquired by the 6.5-m Magellan-Baade telescope of the Las Campanas Observatory in 2016, but was not announced until 17 July 2018, via a Minor Planet Electronic Circular from the Minor Planet Center, which also reported the discovery of nine other of Jupiter's moons.[1] Besides data from Las Campanas, the original announcement also referred to data acquired through the 8.1-m Gemini North telescope of the Mauna Kea Observatories as well as the 4.0-m reflector of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory.[4]

  1. ^ a b "MPEC 2018-O09 : S/2016 J 2". Minor Planet Center. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference MPC128893 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Sheppard was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Carnegie2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).