Amalthea

Amalthea
/am'euhl thee"euh/
1. Class. Myth. Amalthaea.
2. Astron. a small natural satellite of the planet Jupiter.

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▪ satellite of Jupiter
 small, potato-shaped moon of the planet Jupiter and the only Jovian satellite other than the four discovered by Galileo in 1610 to have been found by direct visual observation (as opposed to photography or electronic imaging) from Earth. It was discovered in 1892 by the American astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard (Barnard, Edward Emerson) and named for a figure in Greek mythology associated with the infant Jupiter.

      Amalthea circles Jupiter once every 11 hours 57 minutes (0.498 Earth day) at a distance of 181,000 km (112,500 miles) in a nearly circular orbit that lies within half a degree of Jupiter's equatorial plane. Photographs transmitted by the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft in 1979 and confirmed by the Galileo orbiter in the late 1990s show that Amalthea is an irregular rocky body measuring 262 × 146 × 134 km (163 × 91 × 83 miles). Like the Moon, which always keeps the same face toward Earth, Amalthea rotates at the same rate that it revolves around Jupiter and thus keeps the same face toward the planet. Amalthea's long axis always points toward Jupiter.

      By measuring the gravitational influence of Amalthea on the Galileo spacecraft, scientists determined that the moon has such a remarkably low density—0.9 gram per cubic cm—that it could float in water. Evidently, Amalthea is highly porous, perhaps as a result of collisions that repeatedly shattered its rocky interior. Low densities ascribed to this same cause also have been observed for some of the inner moons of Saturn.

      Amalthea has a dark, reddish surface marked by impact craters. The leading hemisphere (that facing the direction of motion) is some 30 percent brighter than the trailing one, presumably as a result of bombardment by small meteoroids that have entered the Jovian system. The red colour probably results from contamination by particles of sulfur and sulfur compounds that are continually shed by the nearby volcanically active satellite Io. The largest impact crater on Amalthea is Pan, which has a diameter of about 90 km (55 miles).

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  • Amalthea — bezeichnet: Amaltheia, eine griechische Nymphe den Eigennamen einer der Sibyllen, siehe Sibylle (Prophetin) Amalthea (Mond), einen Jupitermond (113) Amalthea, einen Asteroiden einen Verlag, siehe Amalthea Signum Verlag Amalthea Zeitschrift für… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Amalthea — Amalthea. Die Tochter des Königs Melissus auf Kreta. Als Zeus von Rhea geboren war, die den Chronos überlistete, nährte ihn Amalthea mit der Milch einer Ziege, die ein goldner Hund bewachte, und zog ihn auf. Als die Ziege sich an einem Baum ein… …   Damen Conversations Lexikon

  • Amalthéa — AMALTHÉA, æ, Gr. Ἀμάλθεια, ας, des Melisseus, Königes in Creta, Tochter, Didymus ap. Lactant. Instit. lib. I. c. 22. oder, nach andern, eine Nymphe, Hygin. Astron. Poët. lib. II. c. 13. empfieng mit der Themis von der Ops den jungen Jupiter, ihn… …   Gründliches mythologisches Lexikon

  • Amalthēa — Amalthēa, 1) Tochter des Melisseus. Sie stand vor Rhea beim Kreisen bei u. nährte den Zeus mit der Milch einer Ziege, die selbst nachher A. genannt ward. Einst brach diese Ziege ein Horn ab, welches A. mit frischen Kräutern umwunden u. mit süßen… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Amalthea — Amalthea, myth., die Ziege, welche den kleinen Jupiter säugte, zum Dank in die Sterne versetzt; ihr abgebrochenes Horn soll das Füllhorn der Töchter des Melisseus gewesen sein (Cornucopiae) …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • Amalthea — Amalthea,   ein Mond des Planeten Jupiter …   Universal-Lexikon

  • AMALTHEA — I. AMALTHEA Demophile vel Hierophile, Sibylla Cumana. Hanc Servius ait obtulisse Tarquinio Regi novem libros, in quibus erant fata et remedia Romana, et pro his poposcisse 300. Philippeos aureos, qui tunc temporis pretiosi erant, ideoque Rex… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Amalthea Mare — (Неа Врасна,Греция) Категория отеля: Адрес: Nea Vrasna, Неа Врасна, 57021, Греция …   Каталог отелей

  • Amalthea (moon) — Infobox Planet name = Amalthea caption = Galileo images of Amalthea bgcolour = #a0ffa0 discovery = yes discoverer = E.E. Barnard discovered = September 9, 1892 mean orbit radius = 181 365.84 ± 0.02 km (2.54 RJ)cite… …   Wikipedia

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