Kore (moon)

For other uses, see Kore (disambiguation).
Kore
Images of Kore from the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope on 26 February 2003
Discovery[1][2][3]
Discovered by
Discovery siteMauna Kea Obs.
Discovery date8 February 2003
Designations
Designation
Jupiter XLIX (49)[4][5]
Pronunciation/ˈkɔːriː/[6]
Named after
Κόρη Korē
S/2003 J 14[4][5]
Orbital characteristics[7]
Observation arc22 years
2025-01-07 (last obs)[8]
Satellite ofJupiter
GroupPasiphae group
Proper orbital elements
24,203,300 km (0.161789 AU)
0.338
141.7° (to ecliptic)
2.11 years (769.42 d)
Precession of perihelion
18075.3138 arcsec / yr
Precession of the ascending node
15140.1869 arcsec / yr
Physical characteristics
2 km[9][5]
Albedo0.04 (assumed)[9]
23.6 (R-band)[5]
16.60 (31 obs)[8]

Kore (/ˈkɔːriː/), also known as Jupiter XLIX and previously as S/2003 J 14, is a small natural satellite or moon of Jupiter. It is one of the most distant irregular moons of Jupiter, orbiting the planet at an average distance of 24.2 million km (15.0 million mi).[7] It was discovered alongside over 20 other moons of Jupiter by Scott S. Sheppard, David C. Jewitt, and Jan T. Kleyna on 8 February 2003.[1][10][11][12]

Kore is estimated to have a diameter of 2 km (1.2 mi).[5][9] Like many other irregular moons of Jupiter, Kore follows a highly inclined and elliptical orbit that is retrograde or opposite to the direction of the planet's rotation.[9] Due to Kore's immense distance from Jupiter, it is strongly perturbed by the gravitational influence of the Sun and other giant planets, which causes frequent changes in its orbit.[13]: 1  Kore shares similar orbital properties as Jupiter's larger irregular moon Pasiphae, which makes it a member of the Pasiphae group. The moons of the Pasiphae group are believed to be fragments of an asteroid that was gravitationally captured by Jupiter and destroyed by a collision several billion years ago.[9][14]

Discovery

Kore was discovered by Scott S. Sheppard, David C. Jewitt, and Jan T. Kleyna on 8 February 2003,[3][9] during a search for distant moons of Jupiter at Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii.[11] The search involved routine imaging of the sky near Jupiter, using sensitive digital cameras equipped to the observatory's 3.6-meter (12 ft) Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope.[15][16] The search by Sheppard's team ran concurrently with another team's search for Jovian moons (independently led by Brett J. Gladman), which detected Kore on 27 February 2003.[1] The discovery of Kore was announced by the Minor Planet Center on 3 April 2003, after its orbit was determined by Brian G. Marsden.[1][10] Kore was one of the 21 Jovian moons announced in 2003, which raised Jupiter's known moon count to 61 in that year.[11][12]

Name

When the discovery of Kore was announced, it was given the temporary provisional designation S/2003 J 14.[1][10] The moon was officially named "Kore" with the Roman numeral designation Jupiter XLIX (Jupiter 49[4]) by the International Astronomical Union's (IAU's) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature on 5 April 2007.[17] The name "Kore" is another name for the Greek goddess Persephone, who was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter in Greek mythology.[9][3] The name follows the IAU's naming convention for Jovian moons, which are named after mythological lovers and descendants of Zeus or Jupiter.[9][3] Since Kore has a retrograde orbit, it was given a name ending with the letter "e".[9][3]

Orbit

Kore is an irregular moon of Jupiter, meaning it follows a very wide, inclined, and elliptical orbit around the planet.[13] The orbit of Kore is retrograde, meaning it orbits in the opposite direction to Jupiter's rotation.[9] The moon orbits Jupiter at an average distance of 24.2 million km (15.0 million mi; 0.162 AU), which places it far beyond the Galilean moons.[7] Like all other irregular moons of Jupiter, Kore orbits far enough that its orbit is strongly influenced by gravitational perturbations by the Sun and other giant planets, which causes frequent changes in its orbit.[13]: 1  For this reason, proper (or mean) orbital elements are often used to describe the general shape and orientation of the orbits of irregular moons like Kore.[7]

On average, Kore has an orbital period of about 769 days (2.11 years) with an orbital eccentricity of 0.338 and an inclination of 141.7° with respect to the ecliptic.[7] Simulations over a 1,000-year timescale show that Kore's orbital semi-major axis varies from 22.9 to 26.0 million km (14.2 to 16.2 million mi), while Kore's eccentricity and inclination vary from 0.061 to 0.693 and 132.5° to 151.4°, respectively.[13]: 9  Kore's orbit exhibits nodal and apsidal precession with periods of 85.6 and 71.7 years, respectively.[7]

On 23 November 2038, Kore will reach 0.2576 AU (38.54 million km; 23.95 million mi) from Jupiter.[18]

  • Oblique view of Kore's orbit (red), with the Galilean moons (magenta) and other irregular moons of Jupiter (gray) plotted. Note that Kore's orbit does not form a closed ellipse, due to perturbations changing its orbit.
  • Side view of Kore's orbit (red), with the Galilean moons (magenta) and other irregular moons of Jupiter (gray) plotted
  • Top view of Kore's orbit (red), with the Galilean moons (magenta) and other irregular moons of Jupiter (gray) plotted

Group membership and origin

Main article: Pasiphae group

Kore shares similar orbital characteristics as Jupiter's large irregular moon Pasiphae, which makes it a member of the Pasiphae group.[9] The moons of the Pasiphae group are believed to be fragments of an asteroid that was gravitationally captured by Jupiter and destroyed by a collision several billion years ago.[9][14]

Physical characteristics

Little is known about Kore's physical characteristics. Like many of Jupiter's irregular moons, Kore is very faint with an average apparent magnitude of 23.6,[5] so it is best observed with large, sensitive telescopes.[16][15] NASA estimates a diameter of 2 km (1.2 mi) for Kore, assuming it has a low albedo of 0.04.[9] Kore is likely irregularly shaped because it is too small for its gravity to pull itself into a sphere.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Marsden, Brian G. (3 April 2003). "MPEC 2003-G10 : S/2003 J 14". Minor Planet Electronic Circulars (2003-G10). Minor Planet Center. Bibcode:2003MPEC....G...10S. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
  2. ^ "Planetary Satellite Discovery Circumstances". JPL Solar System Dynamics. NASA. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Planet and Satellite Names and Discoverers". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Science Center. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
  4. ^ a b c "MPC Explorer - Jupiter 49". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Sheppard, Scott S. "Moons of Jupiter". Earth & Planets Laboratory. Carnegie Institution for Science. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
  6. ^ as 'Core' in Noah Webster (1884) A Practical Dictionary of the English Language
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Planetary Satellite Mean Elements". JPL Solar System Dynamics. NASA. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
  8. ^ a b "Natural Satellites Ephemeris Service". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 30 January 2026. Check "All Jovian outer irregular satellites", go to "Output Format(s) Required" and check "I require Orbital Elements", and then click the gray "Get Information" button.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Kore". NASA. 25 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
  10. ^ a b c Sheppard, S. S.; Marsden, B. G.; et al. (11 April 2003). Green, Daniel W. E. (ed.). "IAUC 8116: Sats OF JUPITER, SATURN; C/2003 G2". IAU Circular (8116). Central Bureau of Astronomical Telegrams: 1. Bibcode:2003IAUC.8116....1S. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
  11. ^ a b c Sheppard, Scott S.; Jewitt, David C. (4 February 2004). "New Satellites of Jupiter Discovered in 2003". University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy. Archived from the original on 1 April 2004. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
  12. ^ a b Sheppard, Scott S.; Jewitt, David C. (February 2004). "S/2003 J22 and S/2003 J23". University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy. Archived from the original on 9 April 2004. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
  13. ^ a b c d Brozović, Marina; Jacobson, Robert A. (March 2017). "The Orbits of Jupiter's Irregular Satellites". The Astronomical Journal. 153 (4): 147. Bibcode:2017AJ....153..147B. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/aa5e4d. S2CID 125571053.
  14. ^ a b Bottke, William F.; Nesvorný, David; Vokrouhlický, David; Morbidelli, Alessandro (March 2010). "The Irregular Satellites: The Most Collisionally Evolved Populations in the Solar System". The Astronomical Journal. 139 (3): 994–1014. Bibcode:2010AJ....139..994B. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/139/3/994.
  15. ^ a b Cowen, Ron (18 November 2003). "Moonopolies". Science News. Retrieved 26 January 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  16. ^ a b Sheppard, Scott S.; Jewitt, David C. (15 May 2003). "An abundant population of small irregular satellites around Jupiter" (PDF). Nature. 423 (6937): 261–263. Bibcode:2003Natur.423..261S. doi:10.1038/nature01584. S2CID 4424447.
  17. ^ Green, Daniel W. E., ed. (5 April 2007). "IAUC 8826: Sats OF JUPITER, SATURN; RING OF URANUS; 2006 VV_2". IAU Circular (8826). Central Bureau of Astronomical Telegrams: 1. Bibcode:2007IAUC.8826....1G. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
  18. ^ "Apojove on 2038-Nov-23". JPL Horizons. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
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