Quick facts
Parent planet
Diameter (mean)
36 km
Mass
6.3 × 10¹⁶ kg
8.6e-07 Moon masses
Mean orbital radius
11,717,000 km
Orbital period
259.2 Earth days
Discovery year
1938
Discoverer
Seth Barnes Nicholson
Naming origin
Greek nymph, lover of Zeus
Surface conditions
Lysithea is a small 36-km member of the Himalia prograde group, sharing its predecessors' high-inclination orbit and likely common parent body. Nicholson discovered it from Mount Wilson Observatory.
Missions and observations
Every Jupiter-system mission has had an opportunity to image or characterize Lysithea. The list below is the Jupiter-system mission catalog; specific Lysithea encounters are documented in mission archives.
| Mission | Year at Jupiter | Status |
|---|---|---|
|
Pioneer 10 NASA |
1973 | Completed |
|
Pioneer 11 NASA |
1974 | Completed |
|
Voyager 1 NASA |
1979 | Completed |
|
Voyager 2 NASA |
1979 | Completed |
|
Ulysses NASA/ESA |
1992 | Completed |
|
Galileo NASA |
1995 | Completed |
|
Cassini-Huygens NASA/ESA/ASI |
2000 | Completed |
|
New Horizons NASA |
2007 | Completed |
|
Juno NASA |
2016 | Active |
|
Europa Clipper NASA |
2030 | On the way |
|
JUICE ESA |
2031 | On the way |
Naming etymology
Lysithea was a daughter of Oceanus and lover of Zeus in Greek mythology. The IAU adopted the name in 1975.
Methodology & sources
Diameter, mass, and orbital parameters from JPL Solar System Dynamics — Physical Parameters. Discovery year and discoverer from the JPL Satellite Discovery Circumstances. Naming etymology from the IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature. Stylized SVG hero composed from NASA / JPL imagery as visual reference; no photographs are reproduced.