1974 September 14 Charles Kowal's Discovery of Jupiter Moon Leda.
Leda (/ˈliːdə/ LEE-də; Greek: Λήδα
, also known as Jupiter XIII, is a prograde irregular satellite of Jupiter. It was discovered by Charles T. Kowal at the Mount Palomar Observatory on September 14, 1974, after three nights' worth of photographic plates had been taken (September 11 through 13; Leda appears on all of them).[1][4] It was named after Leda, who was a lover of Zeus, the Greek equivalent of Jupiter (who came to her in the form of a swan). Kowal suggested the name and the IAU endorsed it in 1975.[5]
Leda belongs to the Himalia group, five moons orbiting between 11 and 13 Gm from Jupiter at an inclination of about 27.5°.[2] The orbital elements given here are as of January 2000, but they are continuously changing due to solar and planetary perturbations.
Leda Leda2(moon).jpg
Discovery
Discovered by Charles T. Kowal
Discovery date September 11, 1974[1]
Designations
Adjective Ledean
Orbital characteristics
Mean orbit radius 11,160,000 km[2]
Eccentricity 0.16[2]
Orbital period 240.92 d (0.654 a)[2]
Average orbital speed 3.4 km/s
Inclination 27.46° (to the ecliptic)
29.01° (to Jupiter's equator)[2]
Satellite of Jupiter
Physical characteristics
Mean radius 10 km
Surface area ~1250 km²
Volume ~4200 km³
Mass 1.1×1016 kg
Mean density 2.6 g/cm³ (assumed)
Equatorial surface gravity ~0.0073 m/s2 (0.001 g)
Escape velocity ~0.012 km/s
Albedo 0.04 (assumed)
Temperature ~124 K
Apparent magnitude 20.2 [3]
View attachment 22311 View attachment 22312It's down to cousin petro now.
Which reminds me. Has anyone got my quote fro #1083 yet? We seem to be getting ahead of ourselves.
