Carme (moon)

Carme is a retrograde non-spherical moon of Jupiter. It was found by Seth Barnes Nicholson at Mount Wilson Observatory in  California in July 1938. It is named after the mythological Carme, mother by Zeus of Britomartis, a Cretan goddess.

Carme did not get its present name until 1975;IAUC 2846: Satellites of Jupiter 1974 October 7 (naming the moon) before then, it was simply known as . It was sometimes called "Pan" between 1955 and 1975. Note that Pan is now the name of a moon of Saturn.

It gives its name to the Carme group, made up of non-spherical retrograde moons orbiting Jupiter at a distance ranging between 23,000,000 and 24,000,000 km and at an inclination of about 165°. Its orbital elements are as of January 2000. They are changing a lot due to Solar and planetary perturbations.

 References 

 Other websites 
 Carme Profile  by NASA's Solar System Exploration
 David Jewitt pages
 Scott Sheppard pages

Category:Jupiter's moons