| Sinope | |
|---|---|
| |
| Planet of origin | Jupiter |
| Discovered by | Seth Barnes Nicholson |
| Date of discovery | July 21, 1914 |
| Location of discovery | Lick Observatory |
| Surface color | Red |
| Alternate name(s) | Jupiter IX |
Sinope, also known as Jupiter IX, is a retrograde satellite belonging to the outer planet of Jupiter. This satellite was discovered by Seth Barnes Nicholson at the Lick Observatory on July 21, 1914. Sinope was once the outermost satellite of the planet Jupiter, until the discovery of Megaclite in 2000.
Formation[]
With its color differing from its neighboring satellite, Pasiphae, it also has an infrared spectrum differing from Pasiphae as well. The spectrum matches that of a D-type asteroid, which is mostly found in places in the solar region, the Asteroid belt, which neighbors the planet of Jupiter. Pasiphae, however, matches that of a C-type asteroid, which outnumbers the amount of D-type asteroids in the Asteroid belt, meaning Sinope was pulled into Jupiter's gravitational pull from a distance in the Asteroid belt.
Group[]
Sinope, being only two-thirds the size of Pasiphae, is in a group called the Pasiphae Group, a group that contains retrograde satellites have similar orbits to Pasiphae. The largest of the group is Pasiphae.
Main Article: Pasiphae Group
Some of the members of the Pasiphae Group include:
Surface[]
Unlike its neighboring satellite, Pasiphae, Sinope has a reddish surface while Pasiphae has a light gray surface. These two different color spectrums possibly mean that Sinope came from a different region in the Asteroid belt than Pasiphae, or that Sinope was a captured object and unrelated to the formation and collisions in the Pasiphae Group's early life. The surface appears to have no visible craters, but do have visible valleys and hills. These geographical features appear to be darker than the surrounding area, being colors of black and grey.