Helike , also known as , is a
moon of
Jupiter. It was discovered by a team of astronomers from the
University of Hawaii led by
Scott S. Sheppard in 2003, and given the temporary designation .
Helike is about 4 kilometres in diameter, and orbits Jupiter at an average distance of 20.54 million kilometres in 601.402 days, at an
inclination of 155° to the
ecliptic (156° to Jupiter's equator), in a
retrograde direction and with an
eccentricity of 0.1375. Its average orbital speed is 2.48 km/s.
It was named in March 2005 after
Helike, one of the nymphs that nurtured
Zeus (Jupiter) in his infancy on
Crete.
Helike belongs to the
Ananke group
The Ananke group is a group of retrograde irregular satellites of Jupiter that follow similar orbits to Ananke and are thought to have a common origin.
Their semi-major axes (distances from Jupiter) range between 19.3 and 22.7 Gm, their orbital ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helike (Moon)
Ananke group
Moons of Jupiter
Irregular satellites
Discoveries by Scott S. Sheppard
Astronomical objects discovered in 2003
Moons with a retrograde orbit