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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 (pronounced "hi MAL iya") 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 space probe, 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 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°.

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