Zethus (crater)

Summary

Zethus /ˈzθəs/ is a large crater on Jupiter's moon Thebe. The crater is named after Zethus, the husband of the nymph Thebe in Greek mythology, and is the only named surface feature on Thebe. It measures 40 km (25 mi) across in diameter, making quite large when compared to Thebe itself.[1] Zethus, like many other craters on Thebe and Amalthea has bright spots located near its rim.[2] Zethus never faces Jupiter due to being tidally locked to Jupiter in a way that Thebe's long axis points towards Jupiter.[3]

Galileo image of Thebe showing Zethus (the largest crater in the image)

References edit

  1. ^ "Planetary Names: Crater, craters: Zethus on Thebe". United States Geological Survey. October 3, 2006. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  2. ^ Thomas Burns et al. 1998.
  3. ^ Burns Simonelli et al. 2004.

Cited sources

  • Thomas, P. C.; Burns, J. A.; Rossier, L.; Simonelli, D.; Veverka, J.; Chapman, C. R.; Klaasen, K.; Johnson, T. V.; Belton, M. J. S.; Galileo Solid State Imaging Team (September 1998). "The Small Inner Satellites of Jupiter". Icarus. 135 (1): 360–371. Bibcode:1998Icar..135..360T. doi:10.1006/icar.1998.5976.
  • Burns, Joseph A.; Simonelli, Damon P.; Showalter, Mark R.; Hamilton, Douglas P.; Porco, Carolyn C.; Throop, Henry; Esposito, Larry W. (2004). "Jupiter's Ring-Moon System" (PDF). In Bagenal, Fran; Dowling, Timothy E.; McKinnon, William B. (eds.). Jupiter: The Planet, Satellites and Magnetosphere. Cambridge University Press. pp. 241–262. Bibcode:2004jpsm.book..241B. ISBN 978-0-521-81808-7.