Universe & space

Discovery of S/2003 J 23

6 February 2003

S/2003 J 23 is a provisional designation for a small natural satellite of Jupiter, announced in 2003 after a ground-based survey for faint moons around the planet. Like most of Jupiter's recently discovered moons, it is probably an irregular satellite, a small and distant body on a tilted, elongated orbit that was likely captured long ago. These moons are generally thought to be fragments of larger bodies broken apart by collisions. It is known only from telescope measurements of its motion, so little else can be said with confidence about its size or origin.

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