Pasiphae group

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/pasiphae-group

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. How big is Pasiphae group?Captured asteroids or comets, possibly from a single disrupted body
2. What is the type of celestial body?Irregular moons of Jupiter
3. What is the parent planet?Jupiter
4. Why do the Pasiphae group moons orbit backwards?They orbit backwards because they were captured by Jupiter's gravity, not formed with the planet. This backward motion shows they came from outside the solar system.
5. How did the Pasiphae group moons get captured?Jupiter captured them when they passed close, and a third body like another planet helped slow them down. This three‑body interaction let Jupiter keep them in orbit.

Irregular Moons: Moons with orbits that are eccentric, inclined, and often retrograde, typically captured bodies.
Retrograde Orbit: An orbit in the opposite direction of the primary body's rotation, indicating a capture or disruptive event.
Inclination: The angle between an object's orbital plane and a reference plane, such as a planet's equator.
Circumplanetary Disk: A disk of gas and dust surrounding a planet from which regular moons can form.