Adrastea (moon)

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Adrastea   
Image:adrastea.jpg
Image of Adrastea taken by Galileo's solid state imaging system between November 1996 and June 1997.
Discovery
Discovered by: David C. Jewitt
G. Edward Danielson
Discovery date: July 8, 1979
Orbital characteristics
Periapsis: 128,460 km (0.000859 AU)
Apoapsis: 128,930 km (0.000862 AU)
Mean radius of orbit: 128,694 km (0.000860 AU)
Orbital circumference: 808,600 km (0.005 AU)
Eccentricity: 0.0018
Orbital period: 0.29826 d (7 h 9.5 min)
Avg. orbital speed: 31.378 km/s
Max. orbital speed: 31.435 km/s<
Min. orbital speed: 31.322 km/s
Inclination: 2.22° (to the ecliptic)
0.00° (to Jupiter's equator)
Satellite of: Jupiter
Physical characteristics
Dimensions: 26×20×16 km
Mean radius: 10 km
Surface area: ~1300 km²[1]
Volume: ~4400 km³
Mass: 7.5×1015 kg
Mean density: 3.0 g/cm³
Equatorial surface gravity: ~0.005 m/s2 (0.001 g)
Escape velocity: ~0.011 km/s
Rotation period: synchronous
Rotation velocity at equator: 11 km/h
Axial tilt: zero
Albedo: 0.10
Temperature: ~122 K

Adrastea (ad'-rə-stee'-ə, IPA: [ˌædrəˈstiə], Greek Αδράστεια), or Jupiter XV, is the second of Jupiter's known moons (counting outward from the planet). It was discovered on Voyager 2 probe photographs taken in 1979 and received the designation S/1979 J 1 (IAUC 3454) after the discovery had been announced in Science (vol. 206, p. 951, November 23, 1979). In 1983 it was officially named after the mythological Adrastea, daughter of Jupiter and Ananke. The adjectival form of the name is Adrastean.

It is the smallest of the inner satellites of Jupiter.

Adrastea is the first natural satellite to be discovered through the use of images taken by an interplanetary spacecraft, rather than through telescopic photography.

Adrastea is inside Jupiter's planetary ring and may be the source of some of its material. Its orbit lies inside Jupiter's synchronous orbit radius, and as a result tidal forces are slowly causing its orbit to decay. It is also within Jupiter's Roche limit, but is dense or rigid enough to avoid tidal disruption.

Discovery image of Adrastea, taken on July 8, 1979 by Voyager 2. Adrastea is the dot in the very middle, straddling the line of the Jovian rings.
Discovery image of Adrastea, taken on July 8, 1979 by Voyager 2. Adrastea is the dot in the very middle, straddling the line of the Jovian rings.

[edit] See also

... | Metis | Adrastea | Amalthea | ...

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