Carme group

The Carme group is a group of retrograde non-spherical moons of Jupiter that follow similar orbits to Carme and are thought to have a common origin.

Their semi-major axes (distances from Jupiter) range between 22,900,000 and 24,100,000 km, their inclinations between 164.9° and 165.5°, and their orbital eccentricities between 0.23 and 0.27 (with one exception).

This diagram illustrates the largest irregular satellites of Jupiter. The location of the Carme group is illustrated by Carme's presence in the lower middle. An object's position on the horizontal axis indicates its distance from Jupiter. The vertical axis indicates its inclination. Eccentricity is indicated by yellow bars illustrating the object's maximum and minimum distances from Jupiter. Circles illustrate an object's size in comparison to the others.

The core members include (from biggest to smallest):^[1][2]

• Carme (the biggest, which gives its name to the group)
• Taygete
• Eukelade^[3]
• S/2003 J 5^[3]
• Chaldene
• Isonoe
• Kalyke (redder than the others)
• Erinome
• Aitne
• Kale
• Pasithee
• S/2003 J 9^[3]
• S/2003 J 10^[3]

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) reserves names in -e for all retrograde moons, including this group's members.

This diagram compares the orbital elements and relative sizes of the core members of the Carme group. The horizontal axis illustrates their average distance from Jupiter, the vertical axis their orbital inclination, and the circles their relative sizes.

Origin

The Carme group may once have been a single body that was broken apart by an impact. Further support to the single body origin comes from the known colours: all the moons appear light red,^[4] and infrared spectra, similar to D-type asteroids.^[5]

This diagram shows the Ananke group on the same scale as the other diagram, illustrating its wide disperson in comparison with the compact Carme group (see related diagram).

This diagram shows the compactness of the Carme group.