Kale (moon)

Not to be confused with Kale, a vegetable.

Kale (/ˈkeɪliː/ KAY-lee; Greek: Καλή), also known as Jupiter XXXVII, is a retrograde irregular satellite of Jupiter. It was discovered in 2001 by astronomers S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, and J. Kleyna, and was originally designated as S/2001 J 8.[1][2]

Kale is about 2 kilometres in diameter, and orbits Jupiter at an average distance of 22,409 Mm in 685.324 days, at an inclination of 165° to the ecliptic (166° to Jupiter's equator), in a retrograde direction and with an eccentricity of 0.2011.

It was named in August 2003[3] after one of the Charites (Greek Χάριτες, Latin Gratiae, "Graces"), daughters of Zeus (Jupiter). Kale is the spouse of Hephaestus according to some authors (although most have Aphrodite play that role).

It belongs to the Carme group, made up of irregular retrograde moons orbiting Jupiter at a distance ranging between 23 and 24 Gm and at an inclination of about 165°.

References

  1. ↑ IAUC 7900: Satellites of Jupiter 2002 May (discovery)
  2. ↑ MPEC 2002-J54: Eleven New Satellites of Jupiter 2002 May (discovery and ephemeris)
  3. ↑ IAUC 8177: Satellites of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus 2003 August (naming the moon)


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