An abundant population of small irregular satellites around Jupiter

@article{Sheppard2003AnAP,
  title={An abundant population of small irregular satellites around Jupiter},
  author={Scott S. Sheppard and David C. Jewitt},
  journal={Nature},
  year={2003},
  volume={423},
  pages={261-263}
}
Irregular satellites have eccentric orbits that can be highly inclined or even retrograde relative to the equatorial planes of their planets. These objects cannot have formed by circumplanetary accretion, unlike the regular satellites that follow uninclined, nearly circular and prograde orbits. Rather, they are probably products of early capture from heliocentric orbits. Although the capture mechanism remains uncertain, the study of irregular satellites provides a window on processes operating… Expand
View on Nature
www2.ess.ucla.edu
85 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
4
Background Citations
40
Methods Citations
5
Results Citations
3

Figures, Tables, and Topics from this paper

85 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

The Abundant Irregular Satellites of the Giant Planets
Irregular satellites have eccentric orbits that can be highly inclined or even retrograde relative to the equatorial planes of their planets. These objects cannot have formed by circumplanetary… Expand
Irregular Satellites in the Context of Planet Formation
All four giant planets in the solar system possess irregular satellites, characterized by large, highly eccentric and/or highly inclined orbits. These bodies were likely captured from heliocentric… Expand
IRREGULAR SATELLITES IN THE CONTEXT OF PLANET FORMATION
All four giant planets in the solar system possess irregular satellites, characterized by large, highly eccentric and/or highly inclined orbits. These bodies were likely captured from heliocentric… Expand
Discovery of five irregular moons of Neptune
TLDR
The discovery of five exceedingly faint moons of Neptune, two with prograde and three with retrograde orbits, which were presumably captured by Neptune. Expand
Irregular Satellites of the Planets: Products of Capture in the Early Solar System
All four giant planets in the Solar system possess irregular satellites, characterized by large, highly eccentric and/or inclined orbits that are distinct from the nearly circular, uninclined orbits… Expand
Jupiter's outer satellites and Trojans
Jupiter’s irregular satellites possess large, eccentric and highly inclined orbits. They are conventionally considered separately from the temporarily captured satellites and the Trojans (the latter… Expand
Irregular Satellites of the Giant Planets
The irregular satellites of the outer planets, whose population now numbers over 100, are likely to have been captured from heliocentric orbit during the early period of solar system history. They… Expand
Collisional Origin of Families of Irregular Satellites
A distinctive feature of the irregular moons of the giant planets is their orbital grouping. Previously, the prograde and retrograde groups of irregular moons at Jupiter were believed to be groups of… Expand
A REGION VOID OF IRREGULAR SATELLITES AROUND JUPITER
An interesting feature of the giant planets of our solar system is the existence of regions around these objects where no irregular satellites are observed. Surveys have shown that, around Jupiter,… Expand
CAPTURE OF IRREGULAR SATELLITES DURING PLANETARY ENCOUNTERS
More than 90 irregular moons of the Jovian planets have recently been discovered. These moons are an enigmatic part of the solar system inventory. Their origin, which is intimately linked with the… Expand
...
1
2
3
4
5
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 29 REFERENCES
Discovery of 12 satellites of Saturn exhibiting orbital clustering
TLDR
The discovery of 12 irregular satellites of Saturn is reported, along with the determinations of their orbits, indicating that most of the irregular moons are collisional remnants of larger satellites that were fragmented after capture, rather than being captured independently. Expand
On the Inclination Distribution of the Jovian Irregular Satellites
Irregular satellites—moons that occupy large orbits of significant eccentricity e and/or inclination I—circle each of the giant planets. The irregulars often extend close to the orbital stability… Expand
Origin and evolution of the natural satellites
The natural satellites of planets in the solar system display a rich variety of orbital configurations and surface characteristics that have intrigued astronomers, physicists, and mathematicians for… Expand
The Orbits of the Retrograde Jovian Satellites
Abstract The orbits of Jupiter's four retrograde satellites are strongly perturbed by the Sun and therefore resist treatment by the perturbative methods of classical celestial mechanics. We have… Expand
THE FORMATION OF URANUS AND NEPTUNE AMONG JUPITER AND SATURN
The outer giant planets, Uranus and Neptune, pose a challenge to theories of planet formation. They exist in a region of the solar system where long dynamical timescales and a low primordial density… Expand
Gas drag in primordial circumplanetary envelopes: A mechanism for satellite capture
Abstract Some natural satellites may have been captured due to the gas drag they experienced in passing through primordial circumplanetary nebulas. This paper models such an encounter and derives the… Expand
Close Encounters and Collisions of Short-Period Comets with Jupiter and Its Satellites
Abstract The collisional probability of short-period (SP) comets with Jupiter was estimated from numerical integrations of the orbits of real 165 SP comets over 4400 years. The cumulative… Expand
Radii and Albedos of four Trojan asteroids and Jovian satellites 6 and 7
Abstract Thermal radiation has been detected from four asteroids of the Trojan group, and J6 and J7, the brightest of the outer satellites of Jupiter. The six objects all have exceedingly low… Expand
Implied Evolutionary Differences of the Jovian Irregular Satellites from a BVR Color Survey
Abstract We present BVR colors and magnitudes for four jovian irregular prograde satellites (Himalia J6, Elara J7, Lysithea J10, and Leda J13) and four irregular retrograde satellites (Pasiphae J8,… Expand
Derivation of the collision probability between orbiting objects: the lifetimes of jupiter's outer moons
Abstract Equations are derived which relate orbital parameters to the probability of collision between orbiting objects. These equations follow from a new conceptual approach, and are in a form to be… Expand
...
1
2
3
...