Iocaste (moon)

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/iocaste-moon

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Who discovered Iocaste (moon)?2003
2. How big is Iocaste (moon)?Captured asteroid
3. What is the astronomical designation?Jupiter's irregular moon, part of the Ananke group
4. What is the estimated diameter?Approximately 5 kilometers (3 miles)
5. What is Iocaste and where does it orbit?Iocaste is a tiny rocky moon that orbits Jupiter. It is about 5 km wide and spins around the planet in less than a day.
6. How fast does Iocaste travel around Jupiter?Iocaste completes one orbit in under one Earth day, making it one of the fastest moons of Jupiter.

Irregular Satellite: A moon with a distant, inclined, and often eccentric orbit, typically captured.
Orbital Eccentricity: A measure of how much an orbit deviates from a perfect circle.
Gravitational Capture: The process by which a celestial body's gravity traps another object into orbit.
Jovian System: The collection of planets, moons, rings, and other objects orbiting the planet Jupiter.