Pasiphaë group

The Pasiphaë group is a group of retrograde non-spherical moons of Jupiter that follow similar orbits to Pasiphaë and are thought of have a common origin.

Their semi-major axes (distances from Jupiter) range between 22,800,000 and 24,100,000 km (the same range as the Carme group), their inclinations between 144.5° and 158.3°, and their eccentricities between 0.25 and 0.43.
Core members of the group include (from the biggest to the smallest):Scott S. Sheppard, David C. Jewitt, Carolyn Porco 
Jupiter's outer satellites and Trojans, In: Jupiter. The planet, satellites and magnetosphere. Edited by Fran Bagenal, Timothy E. Dowling, William B. McKinnon. Cambridge planetary science, Vol. 1, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, , 2004, p. 263 - 280
Full text(pdf).

 Pasiphae
 Sinope, two-thirds the size of Pasiphaë
 Callirrhoe
 Megaclite
 Autonoe
 Eurydome
 Sponde

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) reserves names ending in -e for all retrograde moons, including this group's members.

Origin
The Pasiphaë group is believed to have been formed when Jupiter captured an asteroid which broke up after a collision. The original asteroid was not disturbed heavily: the original body is calculated to have been 60 km in diameter, about the same size as Pasiphaë; Pasiphaë has 99% of the original body's mass. However, if Sinope belongs to the group, the amount is much smaller, 87%. 
However, Nesvorny 2003, while concurring on the Ananke and Carme groups, lists only Megaclithe for Pasiphaë's group

The differences of colour between the objects (grey for Pasiphaë, light red for Callirrhoe and Megaclite) also suggest that the group could have a more complex origin than a single collision.


References

Category:Jupiter's moons