Carme group

File:TheIrregulars JUPITER GROUPS.svg

This diagram illustrates the largest irregular satellites of Jupiter. The location of the Carme group is illustrated by Carme's presence in the lower middle. An object's position on the horizontal axis indicates its distance from Jupiter. The vertical axis indicates its inclination. Eccentricity is indicated by yellow bars illustrating the object's maximum and minimum distances from Jupiter. Circles illustrate an object's size in comparison to the others.

The Carme group is a group of retrograde irregular satellites of Jupiter that follow similar orbits to Carme and are thought to have a common origin.

Their semi-major axes (distances from Jupiter) range between 22.7 and 23.6 Gm, their orbital inclinations between 164.4° and 164.9°, and their orbital eccentricities between 0.25 and 0.28 (with one exception).

The Carme group members are:<ref name="SheppardJewittPorco2004"> Scott S. Sheppard, David C. Jewitt, Carolyn Porco Jupiter's outer satellites and Trojans, In: Jupiter. The planet, satellites and magnetosphere. Edited by Fran Bagenal, Timothy E. Dowling, William B. McKinnon. Cambridge planetary science, Vol. 1, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, Template:ISBN, 2004, p. 263 – 280 Full text(pdf). Template:Webarchive</ref><ref name="Nesvorny2004"> David Nesvorný, Cristian Beaugé, and Luke Dones. Collisional Origin of Families of Irregular Satellites, The Astronomical Journal, 127 (2004), pp. 1768–1783 Full text.</ref>

File:TheIrregulars JUPITER Carme CORE.svg

This diagram compares the orbital elements and relative sizes of the core members of the Carme group. The horizontal axis illustrates their average distance from Jupiter, the vertical axis their orbital inclination, and the circles their relative sizes.

Name	Diameter (km)<ref name="scott jupiter"/>	Period (days)<ref name="nasa parameters"/>Template:Efn	Notes
Carme	46	–734.19	largest member and group prototype
Taygete	5	–732.45
Chaldene	4	–723.71
Kalyke	5	–742.02	substantially redder than the others
Erinome	3	–728.48
Isonoe	4	–726.27
Aitne	3	–730.10
Kale	2	–729.64
Pasithee	2	–719.47
Arche	3	–731.88
Kallichore	2	–728.26
Eukelade	4	–730.30
Herse	2	–734.52
S/2010 J 1	2	–736.51
Eirene	4	–729.84
S/2003 J 19	2	–734.78
S/2017 J 2	2	–724.71
S/2017 J 5	2	–737.28
S/2017 J 8	1	–719.76
S/2017 J 11	2	–700.66
S/2011 J 1	2	–733.21
S/2003 J 9	1	–736.86
S/2003 J 10	2	–755.43
S/2003 J 24	2	–721.60
S/2016 J 3	2	–713.64
S/2018 J 3	1	–747.02
S/2021 J 4	1	–728.28
S/2021 J 5	2	–747.74
S/2021 J 6	1	–720.97
S/2022 J 1	2	–738.33
S/2022 J 2	1	–781.56

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) reserves names ending in -e for all retrograde moons.

Origin

The very low dispersion of the mean orbital elementsTemplate:Efn among the core members (the group is separated by less than 900,000 km in semi major axis and only 0.5° in inclination) suggests that the Carme group may once have been a single body that was broken apart by an impact. The dispersion can be explained by a very small velocity impulse (5 < δV < 50 m/s).<ref name="Nesvorny2003">David Nesvorný, Jose L. A. Alvarellos, Luke Dones, and Harold F. Levison. Orbital and Collisional Evolution of the Irregular Satellites, The Astronomical Journal,126 (2003), pages 398–429. (pdf) Template:Webarchive</ref> The parent body was probably about the size of Carme, 46 km in diameter; 99% of the group's mass is still located in Carme.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Further support to the single body origin comes from the known colours: all the satellites appear light red,Template:Efn with colour indices B-V= 0.76 and V-R= 0.47<ref name="Grav2003">Template:Cite journal</ref> and infrared spectra, similar to D-type asteroids.<ref name="Grav2004"> Template:Cite journal</ref> These data are consistent with a progenitor from the Hilda family or a Jupiter trojan. Template:Multiple image

Notes

<references group="lower-alpha" />