Megaclite

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Moon of Jupiter

title: "Megaclite" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["pasiphae-group", "moons-of-jupiter", "irregular-satellites", "discoveries-by-scott-s.-sheppard", "discoveries-by-david-c.-jewitt", "discoveries-by-yanga-r.-fernandez", "discoveries-by-eugene-a.-magnier", "astronomical-objects-discovered-in-2000", "moons-with-a-retrograde-orbit"] description: "Moon of Jupiter" topic_path: "general/pasiphae-group" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megaclite" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Moon of Jupiter ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox planet"]

Field	Value
name	Megaclite
image	Megaclite-Jewitt-CFHT-annotated.gif
caption	Megaclite imaged by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in December 2001
pronounced
adjective	Megaclitean
named_after	Μεγακλειτή Megaclītē
mpc_name	Jupiter XIX
alt_names	S/2000 J 8
discovery_ref
discoverer	Scott S. Sheppard
David C. Jewitt
Yanga R. Fernandez
Eugene A. Magnier
discovery_site	Mauna Kea Observatory
discovered	25 November 2000
satellite_of	Jupiter
group	Pasiphae group
orbit_ref
epoch	2026-01-01
observation_arc	16.26 yr (5,938 days)
periapsis	13.1 million km
apoapsis	33.80 million km
semimajor	23.5 million km
eccentricity	0.440
period	–734.6 days
mean_anomaly	256°
mean_motion	/ day
inclination	147.7° (to ecliptic)
asc_node	22.8°
arg_peri	32.4°
physical_ref
mean_diameter	≈ 6 km
density
albedo	0.04 (assumed)
magnitude	21.7
abs_magnitude	15.0
::

Megaclite , also known as Jupiter XIX, is one of Jupiter's smallest and outermost natural satellites.

Discovery and Naming

It was discovered by a team of astronomers from the University of Hawaii led by Scott S. Sheppard in 2000, and given the temporary designation S/2000 J 8.

It was named in October 2002 after Megaclite, mother by Zeus (Jupiter) of Thebe and Locrus in Greek mythology. It was initially erroneously named Magaclite, which was corrected in November 2002. Despite this correction, some earlier research still referred to the moon as Magaclite.

Orbit

Megaclite orbits Jupiter (on average at 23.5 million km) on a high-eccentricity (0.440) and high-inclination (148° to ecliptic) retrograde orbit. The orbital elements are continuously changing due to solar and planetary perturbations.

It belongs to the Pasiphae group, a group of retrograde moons of Jupiter with semi-major axes spread over 22–25 million km, inclinations between 141° and 158°, and higher eccentricities between 0.22 and 0.44.

Physical characteristics

Megaclite's estimated diameter is 6 kilometers, assuming an albedo of 4%.

While Pasiphae belongs to the grey color class (B−V=0.74, V−R=0.38), Megaclite falls under the light red color class (B−V=0.94, V−R=0.41 ), similarly to Callirrhoe and Sinope.

Origin

Megaclite probably did not form near Jupiter but was captured by Jupiter later. Megaclite is believed to be a fragment from a captured asteroid along with other Pasiphae group satellites.

However, it falls into a different color class than Pasiphae and could therefore have been captured by Jupiter independently of the Pasiphae group.

References

| title= Jovian Osculating Orbital Elements for Megaclite (519) | author= Horizons output | url= https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons_batch.cgi?batch=1&COMMAND=%27Megaclite%27&TABLE_TYPE=%27ELEMENTS%27&START_TIME=%272026-01-01%27&STOP_TIME=%272026-01-02%27&STEP_SIZE=%271%20year%27&CENTER=%27@599%27&OUT_UNITS=%27KM-D%27 | access-date= 2025-12-18 }}

|title = Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters |url = https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?sat_phys_par#jupiter |publisher = Jet Propulsion Laboratory |date = 19 February 2015 |access-date = 26 November 2020}}

|title = M.P.C. 115890 |url = https://minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/2019/MPC_20190827.pdf |work = Minor Planet Circular |publisher = Minor Planet Center |date = 27 August 2019}}

|title = Scott S. Sheppard - Jupiter Moons |url = https://sites.google.com/carnegiescience.edu/sheppard/moons/jupitermoons |last = Sheppard |first = Scott |work = Department of Terrestrial Magnetism |publisher = Carnegie Institution for Science |access-date = 26 November 2020}}

References

[http://cbat.eps.harvard.edu/iauc/07500/07555.html IAUC 7555: ''Satellites of Jupiter''] {{webarchive. link. (2002-09-16 2001 January 5 (discovery))
[https://minorplanetcenter.net//iau/mpec/K01/K01A29.html MPEC 2001-A29: ''S/2000 J 7, S/2000 J 8, S/2000 J 9, S/2000 J 10, S/2000 J 11''] 2001 January 15 (discovery and ephemeris)
[https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/mpec/K01/K01T59.html MPEC 2001-T59: ''S/2000 J 8, S/2000 J 9, S/2000 J 10''] 2001 October 15 (revised ephemeris)
[http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/iauc/07900/07998.html IAUC 7998: Satellites of Jupiter] 2002 October 22 (naming the moon "Magaclite")
[http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/iauc/08000/08023.html IAUC 8023: Satellites of Jupiter] 2002 November 29 (correcting the name)
Brown, M. E.. (2000). "Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of Centaurs and Irregular Satellites". The American Astronomical Society.
Sheppard, S. S.; and Jewitt, D. C.; [http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/~jewitt/papers/JSATS/SJ2003.pdf ''An Abundant Population of Small Irregular Satellites Around Jupiter''] {{Webarchive. link. (5 August 2003, Nature, Vol. 423 (May 2003), pp. 261-263)

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