Carme (moon)

Carme is a retrograde non-spherical moon of Jupiter. It was found by Seth Barnes Nicholson at Mount Wilson Observatory in California in July 1938.^[1] It is named after the mythological Carme, mother by Zeus of Britomartis, a Cretan goddess.

Carme

Discovery
Discovered by	S. B. Nicholson
Discovery date	July 30, 1938[1]
Orbital characteristics
Mean orbit radius	23,400,000 km[2]
Eccentricity	0.25[2]
Orbital period	702.28 d (2.045 a)[2]
Average orbital speed	2.253 km/s
Inclination	164.91° (to the ecliptic) 167.53° (to Jupiter's equator)[2]
Satellite of	Jupiter
Physical characteristics
Mean radius	23 km
Surface area	~6600 km²
Volume	~51,000 km³
Mass	1.3×1017 kg
Mean density	2.6 g/cm³ (assumed)
Surface gravity	~0.017 m/s2 (0.0017 g)
Escape velocity	~0.028 km/s
Albedo	0.04 (assumed)
Temperature	~124 K

Carme did not get its present name until 1975;^[3] before then, it was simply known as Jupiter XI. It was sometimes called "Pan"^[4] between 1955 and 1975. Note that Pan is now the name of a moon of Saturn.

It gives its name to the Carme group, made up of non-spherical retrograde moons orbiting Jupiter at a distance ranging between 23,000,000 and 24,000,000 km and at an inclination of about 165°. Its orbital elements are as of January 2000.^[2] They are changing a lot due to Solar and planetary perturbations.