Pasiphae (moon)
Pasiphae photographed by the Haute-Provence Observatory in August 1998 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Philibert J. Melotte |
| Discovery site | Royal Observatory, Greenwich |
| Discovery date | 27 January 1908 |
| Designations | |
Designation | Jupiter VIII |
| Pronunciation | /pəˈsɪfeɪ.iː/ |
Named after | Πασιφάη Pāsiphaē |
| 1908 CJ | |
| Adjectives | Pasiphaëan /ˌpæsɪfeɪˈiːən/ |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 2026-01-01 | |
| Observation arc | 110.34 yr (40,303 days) |
| Periapsis | 12.3 million km |
| Apoapsis | 35.9 million km |
| 24.1 million km | |
| Eccentricity | 0.490 |
| –763.7 d | |
| 227.2° | |
| 0° 29m 54.168s / day | |
| Inclination | 155.6° (to ecliptic) |
| 73° | |
| 268° | |
| Satellite of | Jupiter |
| Group | Pasiphae group |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 57.8±0.8 km | |
| Mass | 1.72×1017 kg (calculated) |
Mean density | 1.70 g/cm3 (assumed) |
| Albedo | 0.044±0.006 |
Spectral type | C |
| 16.9 | |
| 10.1 | |
Pasiphae /pəˈsɪfeɪ.iː/, formerly spelled Pasiphaë, also known as Jupiter VIII is one of the outermost and the biggest of retrograde irregular satellite of Jupiter. As an irregular moon with an eccentric orbit, it gets as far as 35.9 million km from Jupiter.