Megaclite , also known as , is a

natural satellite A natural satellite is, in the most common usage, an astronomical body that orbits a planet, dwarf planet, or small Solar System body (or sometimes another natural satellite). Natural satellites are colloquially referred to as moons, a deriv ...

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

. It was discovered by a team of astronomers from the

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led by Scott S. Sheppard in 2000, and given the temporary designation .MPEC 2001-A29: ''S/2000 J 7, S/2000 J 8, S/2000 J 9, S/2000 J 10, S/2000 J 11''
2001 January 15 (discovery and ephemeris) Megaclite is about 6 kilometres in diameter, and orbits Jupiter at an average distance of 24,687,000 kilometers in 747.09 days, at an inclination of 150° to the

ecliptic The ecliptic or ecliptic plane is the orbital plane of Earth's orbit, Earth around the Sun. It was a central concept in a number of ancient sciences, providing the framework for key measurements in astronomy, astrology and calendar-making. Fr ...

(148° to Jupiter's equator), in a retrograde direction and with an

eccentricity Eccentricity or eccentric may refer to: * Eccentricity (behavior), odd behavior on the part of a person, as opposed to being "normal" Mathematics, science and technology Mathematics * Off-Centre (geometry), center, in geometry * Eccentricity (g ...

of 0.308. It was named in October 2002 after Megaclite, mother by

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(Jupiter) of Thebe and Locrus in

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. It was initially erroneously named Magaclite, which was corrected in November 2002.IAUC 8023: Satellites of Jupiter
2002 November 29 (correcting the name) Despite this correction, some earlier research still referred to the moon as Magaclite. It belongs to the Pasiphae group, irregular retrograde moons orbiting Jupiter at distances ranging between 22.8 and 24.7 Gm, and with inclinations ranging between 144.5° and 158.3°. However, while Pasiphae belongs to the grey color class (V=17.22 B−V=0.74, V−R=0.38), Megaclite falls under the light red color class (V=22.07 B−V=0.94, V−R=0.41), similarly to Callirrhoe and Sinope.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Megaclite (Moon) Pasiphae group Moons of Jupiter Irregular satellites Discoveries by Scott S. Sheppard Discoveries by David C. Jewitt Discoveries by Yanga R. Fernandez Discoveries by Eugene A. Magnier 20001125 Moons with a retrograde orbit