Amalthea

Amalthea (pronounced "am al THEE uh") is the third of Jupiter's known moons. It was discovered on September 9 1892 by [Edmund Emerson Barnard]? using the 36 inch (91 cm) refractor at [Lick Observatory]?. Amalthea was the last moon to be discovered by direct visual observation as opposed to photography. It is named after the nymph? of Greek legend who nursed the infant Jupiter with goat's milk.

Amalthea is the reddest object in the solar system, even redder than the planet Mars. The reddish color is apparently due to sulfur originating from Io. Its irregular shape and large size implies that Amalthea is a fairly strong, rigid body; if it were composed of ices or other weak materials its own gravity would have pulled it into a more sphereical shape. Its irregular shape is likely a result of its long history of impact cratering. Like all of Jupiter's moons it is tidally locked with the planet, its long axis pointing towards Jupiter at all times. Its composition is probably more like an asteroid's than like the Galilean moons, and it may be captured. Like Io, Amalthea radiates more heat than it receives from the Sun. This is probably due to the electrical currents induced within it by its orbit through Jupiter's [magnetic field]?.

• Orbital radius: 181,300 km
• diameter: 189 km (270 x 166 x 150)
• mass: 7.17*10¹⁸ kg
• orbital period: 11.92 hours
• orbital inclination: 0.4°