Taygete (moon)

Lore & Background

Taygete was discovered in 2000 by a team of astronomers from the University of Hawaiʻi led by Scott S. Sheppard, and given the temporary designation S/2000 J 9. It was named in October 2002 after Taygete, one of the Pleiades, daughter of the Titan Atlas and mother of Lacedaemon by Zeus (Jupiter).

Taygete orbits Jupiter at an average distance of 23.3 million kilometers in 732 days, at an inclination of 165° to the ecliptic, in a retrograde direction and with an eccentricity of 0.248. It belongs to the Carme group, a tightly packed set of irregular retrograde moons orbiting Jupiter at a distance ranging between 22.7–23.5 million km, at an inclination of about 165°, and eccentricities between 0.24 and 0.28.

Its estimated diameter is 5 kilometers, assuming an albedo of 4%. Like most other members of the Carme group (the exception is Kalyke), it is light red in color (B−V=0.56, V−R=0.52), similar to D-type asteroids. Taygete probably did not form near Jupiter but was captured by Jupiter later, and like other Carme group members, is likely the remnant of a broken, captured heliocentric asteroid.

Reader's Guide

Taygete is significant as a member of the Carme group, a collection of irregular retrograde moons that share similar orbital parameters, suggesting a common origin. Its discovery in 2000 by the University of Hawaiʻi team led by Scott S. Sheppard added to the growing catalog of Jupiter's irregular satellites, which provide insights into the capture and fragmentation history of small bodies in the outer Solar System. The moon's light red color, similar to D-type asteroids, supports the hypothesis that it originated as a heliocentric asteroid that was later captured by Jupiter's gravity and subsequently broken apart, with Taygete being one of the surviving fragments. Its retrograde orbit and high inclination (165°) are characteristic of captured objects rather than moons that formed in situ. The naming after Taygete, a Pleiad from Greek mythology, continues the tradition of naming Jupiter's moons after mythological figures associated with the god Jupiter (Zeus). As a very small moon (only 5 km in diameter), Taygete represents the faint, distant population of Jovian satellites that are challenging to observe but crucial for understanding the dynamical evolution of the Jovian system.

Did You Know?

• Taygete orbits Jupiter in a retrograde direction at an inclination of 165° to the ecliptic.
• It belongs to the Carme group, a set of irregular retrograde moons with similar orbits.