S/2003 J 12 facts for kids
S/2003 J 12
Discovered by
Scott S. Sheppard et al.
Discovery date
Orbital characteristics
Mean orbit radius
17.740 million km
Eccentricity
Orbital period
482.691 days
Mean radius
~0.5 km
S/2003 J 12 is a moon of Jupiter, and is the smallest known. It was found by a team of astronomers from the University of Hawaii led by Scott S. Sheppard in 2003.
S/2003 J 12 is about 1 kilometre in diameter, and orbits Jupiter at an average distance of 17,740,000 km in 482.691 days, at an inclination of 143° to Jupiter's equator), with an orbital eccentricity of 0.4449.
It is the closest of the farther non-spherical retrograde moons of Jupiter, and does not seem to belong to any group.
Blink animation of S/2003 J 12 in CFHT precovery images from December 2001
S/2003 J 12 Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.