Megaclite
 Megaclite imaged by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in December 2001 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Scott S. Sheppard David C. Jewitt Yanga R. Fernandez Eugene A. Magnier |
| Discovery site | Mauna Kea Observatory |
| Discovery date | 25 November 2000 |
| Designations | |
Designation | Jupiter XIX |
| Pronunciation | /mɛɡəˈklaɪtiː/ |
Named after | Μεγακλειτή Megaclītē |
| S/2000 J 8 | |
| Adjectives | Megaclitean /ˌmɛɡəklɪˈtiːən/ |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 2026-01-01 | |
| Observation arc | 25 years 2025-12-21 (last obs) |
| Periapsis | 13.1 million km |
| Apoapsis | 33.80 million km |
| 23.5 million km | |
| Eccentricity | 0.440 |
| –734.6 days | |
| 256° | |
| 0° 28m 54.732s / day | |
| Inclination | 147.7° (to ecliptic) |
| 22.8° | |
| 32.4° | |
| Satellite of | Jupiter |
| Group | Pasiphae group |
| Physical characteristics | |
| ≈ 6 km | |
| Albedo | 0.04 (assumed) |
| 21.7 | |
| 15.0 | |
Megaclite /mɛɡəˈklaɪtiː/, also known as Jupiter XIX, and previously as S/2000 J 8, is a small natural satellite or moon of Jupiter. It is one of Jupiter's many irregular moons, which orbit far from the planet on highly inclined and eccentric orbits. Megaclite was discovered by Scott S. Sheppard on 23 November 2000 and was named after Megaclite.
It orbits Jupiter in the retrograde direction—opposite to the direction of the planet's rotation—at an average distance of 23.5 million km (14.6 million mi). Megaclite shares similar orbital properties as Jupiter's larger irregular moon Pasiphae, which makes it a member of the Pasiphae group.The moons of the Pasiphae group are a group moons are believed to be fragments of an asteroid or trans-Neptunian object that was gravitationally captured by Jupiter and destroyed by a collision several billion years ago.
However, given its mean inclination and different colour, Megaclite could be also an independent object, captured independently, unrelated to the collision and break-up at the origin of the group. Most of Megaclite's physical properties are unknown,it estimated to be about 6 km in diameter and its surface is be dark and lightred.