Thebe (moon)

Thebe
	Image of Thebe taken by the Galileo spacecraft on 4 January 2000. The large crater near the center is Zethus
Discovery
Discovered by	Stephen P. Synnott / Voyager 1
Discovery date	5 March 1979
Designations
Pronunciation	/ˈθiːbiː/
Named after	Θήβη Thēbē
Adjectives	Thebean /θiːˈbiːən/
Orbital characteristics
Periapsis	218000 km
Apoapsis	226000 km
Mean orbit radius	221889.0±0.6 km (3.11 RJ)
Eccentricity	0.0175±0.0004
Orbital period (sidereal)	0.674536±0.000001 d (16 h 11.3 min)
Average orbital speed	23.92 km/s (calculated)
Inclination	1.076°±0.003° (to Jupiter's equator)
Satellite of	Jupiter
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	116 × 98 × 84 km
Mean radius	49.3±2.0 km
Volume	≈ 500000 km3
Surface gravity	0.04 m/s2 (0.004 g)
Escape velocity	20–30m/s
Synodic rotation period	synchronous
Axial tilt	zero
Albedo	0.047±0.003
Temperature	≈ 124 K

Thebe /ˈθiːbiː/, also known as Jupiter XIV, is the fourth of Jupiter's moons by distance from the planet. It was discovered by Stephen P. Synnott in images from the Voyager 1 space probe taken on March 5, 1979, while making its flyby of Jupiter.^[7] In 1983, it was officially named after the mythological nymph Thebe.^[8]

The second largest of the inner satellites of Jupiter, Thebe orbits within the outer edge of the Thebe gossamer ring that is formed from dust ejected from its surface.^[5] It is irregularly shaped and reddish in colour, and is thought like Amalthea to consist of porous water ice with unknown amounts of other materials. Its surface features include large craters and high mountains—some of them are comparable to the size of the moon itself.^[4]

Thebe was photographed in 1979 by the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft, and later, in more detail, by the Galileo orbiter in the 1990s.^[4]

^ Noah Webster (1884) A Practical Dictionary of the English Language
^ The adjectives "Theban" and sometimes "Thebean" (with stress on the first syllable) refer to the city of Thebes, Greece.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Cooper Murray et al. 2006.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Thomas Burns et al. 1998.
^ ^a ^b Burns Simonelli et al. 2004.
^ Simonelli Rossier et al. 2000.
^ Synnott 1980.
^ IAUC 3872.

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[1] Noah Webster (1884) A Practical Dictionary of the English Language

[2] The adjectives "Theban" and sometimes "Thebean" (with stress on the first syllable) refer to the city of Thebes, Greece.

[FOOTNOTECooper_Murray_et_al.2006-5] Cooper Murray et al. 2006.

[FOOTNOTEThomas_Burns_et_al.1998-6] Thomas Burns et al. 1998.

[FOOTNOTEBurns_Simonelli_et_al.2004-8] Burns Simonelli et al. 2004.

[FOOTNOTESimonelli_Rossier_et_al.2000-10] Simonelli Rossier et al. 2000.

[FOOTNOTESynnott1980-11] Synnott 1980.

[FOOTNOTEIAUC_3872-12] IAUC 3872.

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Discovery
Image of Thebe taken by the Galileo spacecraft on 4 January 2000. The large crater near the center is Zethus
Discovered by	Stephen P. Synnott / Voyager 1
Discovery date	5 March 1979
Designations
Pronunciation	/ˈθiːbiː/^[1]
Named after	Θήβη Thēbē
Adjectives	Thebean /θiːˈbiːən/^[2]
Orbital characteristics
Periapsis	218000 km^[a]
Apoapsis	226000 km^[b]
Mean orbit radius	221889.0±0.6 km (3.11 `R`_J)^[3]
Eccentricity	0.0175±0.0004^[3]
Orbital period (sidereal)	0.674536±0.000001 d (16 h 11.3 min)^[3]
Average orbital speed	23.92 km/s (calculated)
Inclination	1.076°±0.003° (to Jupiter's equator)^[3]
Satellite of	Jupiter
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	116 × 98 × 84 km^[4]
Mean radius	49.3±2.0 km^[4]
Volume	≈ 500000 km³
Surface gravity	0.04 m/s² (0.004 g)^[4]^[c]
Escape velocity	20–30m/s^[5]^[d]
Synodic rotation period	synchronous
Axial tilt	zero
Albedo	0.047±0.003^[6]
Temperature	≈ 124 K