Carme is a retrograde irregular satellite of Jupiter. It was discovered 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.

History

Carme did not receive its present name until 1975; before then, it was simply known as Jupiter XI. It was sometimes called "Pan" between 1955 and 1975 (Pan is now the name of a satellite of Saturn). It gives its name to the Carme group, made up of irregular retrograde moons orbiting Jupiter at a distance ranging between 23 and 24 Gm and at an inclination of about 165°. Its orbital elements are as of 17 December 2020. They are continuously changing due to solar and planetary perturbations.

Properties

With a diameter of 46.7 km, it is the largest member of the Carme group and the fourth largest irregular moon of Jupiter. It is light red in color (B−V=0.76, V−R=0.47), similar to D-type asteroids and consistent with Taygete, but not Kalyke.