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Pasiphae group
The Pasiphae group is a dynamical collection of irregular retrograde satellites orbiting Jupiter associated by similar orbital elements. These satellites are studied in the contexts of Jupiter, Solar System, planetary science, asteroid collision models and celestial mechanics research, and feature in surveys by observatories such as Palomar Observatory, Mauna Kea Observatories, and missions like Galileo (spacecraft) and planned studies by Juno (spacecraft) teams. Researchers from institutions including the International Astronomical Union, NASA, European Space Agency, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, and universities such as University of California, Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of Arizona have contributed to their characterization.
The group comprises several retrograde irregular satellites of Jupiter with semi-major axes, inclinations, and eccentricities clustering around common values, prompting hypotheses linking them to a single progenitor body disrupted in a collisional event. Observational campaigns by facilities like Subaru Telescope, Very Large Telescope, Keck Observatory, and surveys such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Pan-STARRS have extended the census, while theoretical work from researchers at Southwest Research Institute, California Institute of Technology, and Harvard University models capture their long-term dynamical evolution.
Initial members were discovered in the early 20th century and later decades by astronomers using instruments at Mount Wilson Observatory, Lick Observatory, and Yerkes Observatory. The naming conventions follow mythological figures associated with Greek mythology filtered through IAU rules administered by the Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature and the Minor Planet Center. Historical discoverers include teams led by figures linked to Perseus (constellation), Palomar Sky Survey researchers, and later rediscoveries tied to programs at United States Naval Observatory and the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory.
Members share retrograde motion with inclinations typically between about 140° and 165° and semi-major axes roughly in the range of 22–25 million kilometers from Jupiter. Their orbital eccentricities vary, often between ~0.2 and ~0.4, producing perijove and apojove distances that interact with perturbations from Sun (star), Saturn, and other Jovian satellites such as Callisto, Ganymede, Io, and Europa. Studies in dynamical astronomy and n-body problem analyses by teams at Observatoire de Paris and Institute for Advanced Study use numerical integrations to map resonances and secular interactions, referencing techniques from Lagrange (mathematician) and Joseph-Louis Lagrange-based formalisms.
Photometric and spectroscopic observations with instruments on Hubble Space Telescope, Keck Observatory, Subaru Telescope, and Gemini Observatory indicate generally dark, low-albedo surfaces resembling C-type asteroid or D-type asteroid spectral classes, implicating primitive, volatile-rich compositions. Sizes span from several kilometers to tens of kilometers, constrained by thermal measurements from facilities like Infrared Astronomical Satellite-era data and modern infrared arrays at Spitzer Space Telescope teams and ground-based thermal modeling groups at Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Rotational lightcurve analyses by observers associated with International Astronomical Union symposiums and amateur contributions coordinated via Minor Planet Center reveal a range of spin periods and non-spherical shapes.
Leading formation scenarios invoke a collisional disruption of a captured progenitor, with models developed by researchers at University of Colorado Boulder, Cornell University, Princeton University, and University of Cambridge employing impact physics from Hypervelocity impact studies and fragmentation scaling laws reported in journals like Icarus (journal) and The Astronomical Journal. Capture mechanisms considered include gas drag in the early Solar nebula and three-body interactions involving proto-Jupiter and heliocentric planetesimals studied in works by teams at Southwest Research Institute and Max Planck Institute for Astronomy. Long-term dynamical stability analyses reference chaotic diffusion, Kozai mechanisms identified by Yoshihide Kozai, and resonant perturbations cataloged in Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy.
Prominent satellites traditionally associated by orbital clustering include several named moons discovered across the 20th and 21st centuries; their identification and orbital element catalogs are maintained by the Minor Planet Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Horizons system, and the International Astronomical Union bulletins. Observers from Palomar Observatory, Keck Observatory, Subaru Telescope, Gemini Observatory, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, and amateur networks contribute astrometry and photometry that refine orbits and physical parameters for each recognized member.
Long-term observational programs utilize facilities such as Hubble Space Telescope, Keck Observatory, Very Large Telescope, Subaru Telescope, Pan-STARRS, Palomar Observatory, and space missions coordinated by NASA and ESA. Data reduction and orbital modeling draw on software and databases developed at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Minor Planet Center, AstDyS services, and academic groups at MIT, Caltech, and Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Future projects planning deeper surveys and dynamical studies include proposals tied to Vera C. Rubin Observatory, extended analyses by Juno (spacecraft) science teams, and collaborative international programs at International Astronomical Union symposia.
Category:Jupiter satellites groups