Talk:Himalia group

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[edit] Definition

"The Himalia group is a dynamical grouping of the prograde irregular satellites of Jupiter following similar orbits."

Does 'dynamical grouping' mean the same thing as 'group that follows similar orbits'? If so, can 'dynamical grouping' be dropped from the introductory sentence? Just wondering... The Singing Badger 20:41, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

The term dynamical grouping is used in opposition to groupings following other criteria, e.g. physical characteristics. Dynamical grouping is done by identifying similarities of the orbital elements. It implies (or at least suggests) the dynamic relationship among orbital elements e.g. common origin (all orbits can be obtained from the original orbit of the progenitor by adding some small velocity impulse; a kick).
Similar orbits does not mean much as it does not say which orbital elements are similar. I’d prefer to use similar orbital elements rather than similar orbits.
You’re absolutely right definition in the first statement is almost circular. Eurocommuter 21:38, 13 September 2006 (UTC)