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Amalthea

File:Amalthea_PIA02532.png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Also known as Jupiter V, Amalthea (moon)

moon of Jupiter

AI overview

Amalthea is one of Jupiter's moons, a small rocky body that orbits the giant planet. It is notable for being the third-closest moon to Jupiter and for its distinctive reddish color, which scientists believe comes from sulfur compounds deposited on its surface.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Instance of
regular moon
Named after
Amalthea
Parent body
Jupiter
Radius
83.45
Mass
2.1
Orbital period
0.49817943
Image
Amalthea PIA02532.png
Show 13 more facts
Commons category
Amalthea
discoverer or inventor
Edward Emerson Barnard
site of astronomical discovery
Lick Observatory
time of discovery or invention
1892-09-09
topic's main category
Category:Amalthea (moon)
periapsis
181150
apoapsis
182840
orbital eccentricity
0.00319
semi-major axis of an orbit
181400
apparent magnitude
14.1
albedo
0.09
orbital inclination
0.374
volume as quantity
2430000
Sources (8)

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Encyclopedic overview

Apparent magnitude 14.1 Absolute magnitude (H) 7.2

Amalthea (/æməlˈθiːə/) is a moon of Jupiter. It has the third-closest orbit around Jupiter among known moons and was the fifth moon of Jupiter to be discovered, so it is also known as Jupiter V. It is also the fifth-largest moon of Jupiter, after the four Galilean moons. Edward Emerson Barnard discovered the moon on 9 September 1892 and named it after Amalthea of Greek mythology. It was the last natural satellite to be discovered by direct visual observation; all later moons were discovered by photographic or digital imaging.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Amalthea” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (10)