The Planets

  • Planets
    • Mercury
    • Venus
    • Earth
    • Mars
    • Jupiter
      • Jupiter Red Spot
    • Saturn
    • Uranus
    • Neptune
  • Solar System
    • Dwarf Planets
      • Ceres
      • Pluto
      • Haumea
      • Makemake
      • Eris
      • Sedna
    • Moons
      • Moons of Saturn
      • Moons of Jupiter
    • The Sun
    • The Moon
      • New Moon
      • Waxing Gibbous Moon
      • First Quarter Moon
      • Waxing Crescent Moon
      • Full Moon
      • Lunar Eclipses
    • Asteroid Belt
    • The Heliopause
    • Kuiper Belt
    • Oort Cloud
    • Solar Eclipses
  • Objects
    • Asterisms
    • Asteroids
    • Comets
    • Constellations
    • Gas Giants
    • Meteorites
    • Meteor Showers
    • Stars
      • Star Clusters & Clouds
      • Types Of Stars
    • Terrestrial Planets
  • Galaxies
    • Black Holes
    • Andromeda
    • Antennae
    • Centaurus A
    • The Milky Way
    • Magellanic Clouds
    • Pinwheel
    • Sombrero
    • Triangulum
    • Whirlpool
    • Types Of Galaxies
    • Superclusters
  • Tools
    • Buying Guides For 2023
    • Your Weight on Other Planets
    • Your Age on Other Planets
    • Calculate Distances Between Planets
    • Interactive Solar System Model
  • Questions

Elara – Facts and Info

Elara is an outer moon of Jupiter, part of the Himalia group, and is the eighth largest of Jupiter's 79 moons. This moon was discovered relatively recently, compared to the Galilean moons, in 1905 by Charles Dillon Perrine. It is one of the furthest moons from Jupiter, and it is also one of the smallest of Jupiter's moons. Elara is approximately 148 times smaller than Planet Earth.

Elara

Elara is situated 7.3 million miles, or 11 million kilometers, away from Jupiter, and it takes this little moon the equivalent of 260 earth days to complete one orbit.

As the 12th moon of Jupiter, it is one of the planet’s outer natural satellites. The outer satellites, or moons, of Jupiter have more irregular orbit paths than those closer to the planet.

 

The Discovery Of Elara

Perrine discovered Elara when examining photos taken by a reflector device, the Crossley, at the University of California’s Lick Observatory.

With a mean radius of only 26.7 miles, and a diameter of 50 miles, Elara is a fairly small moon, especially compared to Jupiter’s four largest moons, which are often known as the Galilean moons. Although it is one of the eight largest of Jupiter’s moons, Elara is only 2% of the size of Europa, the smallest of the Galilean moons. Bearing this in mind, it’s no wonder Elara was not discovered until the early 20th Century.

 

The Naming Of Elara

For years, Elara was simply known as, “Jupiter VII,” and until 1975 it was also sometimes referred to as, “Hera.” However, in 1975, this little moon was officially given the name of Elara.

The International Astronomical Union chose names ending in A for all of Jupiter’s outer moons with prograde orbits. A ‘prograde orbit’ means that the moon orbits in the same direction that its planet is rotating.

The name Elara comes from Greek mythology. Like the names of many other planetary moons, Elara was one of the many lovers of the Greek god, Zeus. In Greek mythology, Elara was kept a secret from Zeus’ wife by concealing her in the center of the earth. The story continues with Elara giving birth to the giant Tityas.

 

The Makeup Of Elara

It is commonly thought that Elara, like the other moons in the Himalia group, may be comprised of a broken asteroid. Because this moon reflects only a small percentage of the light cast upon it, this indicates it is probably a chunk of asteroid that was pulled into Jupiter’s gravitational rotation.

According to NASA, because the other Himalian moons in Jupiter’s orbit, Leda, Himalia and Lysithea, are comprised of like matter, it makes sense that they may all have originated from the same asteroid.

This asteroid from which Elara most likely originated was probably a type C or D asteroid. Type C asteroids are the most common type, and they contain a large proportion of carbon, rocks and minerals. Type D asteroids often contain a higher percentage of organic compounds and may also contain water or ice.

These outer moons, including Elara, may also be related to the Trojan asteroid group, which is made up of smaller planets that share Jupiter’s orbit.

Link/cite this page

If you use any of the content on this page in your own work, please use the code below to cite this page as the source of the content.

  • <a href="https://theplanets.org/moons-of-jupiter/elara/">Elara – Facts and Info</a>

  • Stewart, Suzy. "Elara – Facts and Info". The Planets. Accessed on June 9, 2023. https://theplanets.org/moons-of-jupiter/elara/.

  • Stewart, Suzy. "Elara – Facts and Info". The Planets, https://theplanets.org/moons-of-jupiter/elara/. Accessed 9 June, 2023.

  • Stewart, Suzy. Elara – Facts and Info. The Planets. Retrieved from https://theplanets.org/moons-of-jupiter/elara/.

Search The Universe

Popular Posts

  • Space Facts
  • Planet Facts
  • Sun Facts
  • Moon Facts
  • Types of Galaxy
  • Star Facts

Facts About The Eight Planets

  • Facts About Mercury
  • Facts About Venus
  • Facts About Earth
  • Facts About Mars
  • Facts About Jupiter
  • Facts About Saturn
  • Facts About Uranus
  • Facts About Neptune
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

© The Planets 2010 - 2023 | Privacy Policy & Affiliate Disclaimer

Copyright © 2023 ThePlanets.org | Sitemap