Himalia (moon)

Himalia

Discovery
Discovered by	C. D. Perrine
Discovered on	December 3 1904
Orbital characteristics
Mean radius	11,443,000 km
Eccentricity	0.112-0.207
Orbital period	250.1d
Inclination	4.5-51.9°
Is a satellite of	Jupiter
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	170 km
Surface area	km2
Mass	6.74×1018 kg
Mean density	2.6 g/cm3
Surface gravity	0.062 m/s2
Surface Gravity (Earth = 1)	0.00633
Rotation period	~0.4d
Axial tilt	?°
Albedo	0.04
Surface temp.	min mean max K K K
Atmospheric pressure	0 kPa

Himalia (hye-mal'-ee-a, also hi-mahl'-ee-a, IPA , /hɪ'mɑ:li.ə/; Greek ‘Ιμαλíα) is a moon of Jupiter. It was discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine at the Lick Observatory in 1904 and is named after the nymph Himalia who bore three sons of Zeus.

On December 19, 2000, the Cassini spacecraft, en route to Saturn, captured a very low resolution image of Himalia, but it was too distant to show any surface details.

Himalia did not receive its present name until 1975; before then, it was simply known as Jupiter VI. It was sometimes called "Hestia".

It is the largest member of the group that bears its name, five moons orbiting between 11 and 13 Gm from Jupiter at an inclination of about 27.5°.

External links

• Astronomical Journal, 24 (1905) 154B
• Astronomical Journal, 24 (1905) 160 (same as above)
• Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 17 (1905) 22
• Harvard College Observatory Bulletin, 173 (1905) 1
• Harvard College Observatory Bulletin, 175 (1905) 1
• Astronomische Nachrichten, 169 (1905) 43/44