Pasithee (moon)

Not to be confused with Pasiphae (moon).

Pasithee /ˈpæsəθiː/, also known as Jupiter XXXVIII, is a retrograde irregular satellite of Jupiter. It was discovered by a team of astronomers from the University of Hawaii led by Scott S. Sheppard in 2001, and given the temporary designation S/2001 J 6.^[7][1]

Pasithee

Discovery images of Pasithee by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in December 2001
Discovery [1]
Discovered by	Scott S. Sheppard David C. Jewitt Jan T. Kleyna
Discovery site	Mauna Kea Observatory
Discovery date	11 December 2001
Designations
Designation	Jupiter XXXVIII
Pronunciation	/ˈpæsəθiː/
Named after	Πασιθέα Pāsithea
Alternative names	S/2001 J 6
Adjectives	Pasithean[2] /pəˈsɪθiən/[3]
Orbital characteristics [4]
Epoch 17 December 2020 (JD 2459200.5)
Observation arc	16.29 yr (5,949 days)
Semi-major axis	0.1535315 AU (22,967,990 km)
Eccentricity	0.2097026
Orbital period (sidereal)	–711.12 d
Mean anomaly	71.98760°
Mean motion	0° 30m 22.488s / day
Inclination	164.72796° (to ecliptic)
Longitude of ascending node	49.07994°
Argument of perihelion	331.51895°
Satellite of	Jupiter
Group	Carme group
Physical characteristics[5]
Mean diameter	2 km
Albedo	0.04 (assumed)
Apparent magnitude	23.2[6]
Absolute magnitude (H)	16.8[4]

Pasithee is about 2 kilometres in diameter, and orbits Jupiter at an average distance of 23,307,000 km in 711.12 days, at an inclination of 166° to the ecliptic (164° to Jupiter's equator), in a retrograde direction and with an eccentricity of 0.3289.

It was named in August 2003 after Pasithee, one of the Charites, goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility, daughters of Zeus (Jupiter) by Eurynome.^[8] Pasithee, better known as Aglaea, is the spouse of Hypnos (Sleep) and presides over hallucinations and hallucinogens.

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. MPEC 2002-J54: Eleven New Satellites of Jupiter May 15, 2002 (discovery and ephemeris)
2. Sheila Dillon (1996) "The portraits of a civic benefactor of 2nd-c. Ephesos", Journal of Roman Archaeology, p. 273
3. per 'Pasithea' in Noah Webster (1884) A Practical Dictionary of the English Language and "Pasithea". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
4. "M.P.C. 127088" (PDF). Minor Planet Circular. Minor Planet Center. 17 November 2020.
5. "Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
6. Sheppard, Scott. "Scott S. Sheppard - Jupiter Moons". Department of Terrestrial Magnetism. Carnegie Institution for Science. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
7. IAUC 7900: Satellites of Jupiter May 16, 2002 (discovery)
8. IAUC 8177: Satellites of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus Archived 2008-07-09 at the Wayback Machine 2003 August (naming the moon)