| Discovery | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discovered by | S. Synnott | ||||||
| Discovered in | 1979 | ||||||
| Orbital characteristics | |||||||
| Mean radius | 221,900 km | ||||||
| Eccentricity | 0.0018 | ||||||
| Revolution period | 16h 11.3m | ||||||
| Inclination | 1.070° | ||||||
| Is a satellite of | Jupiter | ||||||
| Physical characteristics | |||||||
| Equatorial diameter | 110(×90) km | ||||||
| Surface area | km2 | ||||||
| Mass | 7.557×1017 kg | ||||||
| Mean density | 1.45 g/cm3 | ||||||
| Surface gravity | 0.0201m/s2 | ||||||
| Rotation period | 16h 11.3m | ||||||
| Axial tilt | 0.001° | ||||||
| Albedo | 0.047 | ||||||
| Surface temp |
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| Atmospheric pressure | 0 kPa | ||||||
Thebe (pronounced "THEE bee") is the fourth of Jupiter's known satellites by distance from the planet. It was discovered by Voyager 1 and was first given the temporary name 1979J2. It was later named after a nymph who was the daughter of the river god Asopus. There appear to be at least three or four very large impact craters on the satellite (very large in the sense that each of these craters is roughly comparable in size to the radius of Thebe). Little else is known about it.
This image of Thebe was taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft on January 4, 2000, at a range of 193,000 kilometers (about 120,000 miles).