Presented by Lissauer et al . ( 2009 , Icarus 199 , 338 ) are used to test the model of capture of Jupiter 's irregular satellites within proto - Jupiter 's distended and thermally - supported envelope . We find such capture highly unlikely , since the envelope shrinks too slowly for a large number of moons to be retained , and many of those that would be retained would orbit closer to the planet than do the observed Jovian irregulars . Our calculations do not address ( and therefore do not exclude ) the possibility that the irregular satellites were captured as a result of gas drag within a circumjovian disk . Support for this research from NASA Outer Planets Research Program is gratefully acknowledged .