Callirrhoe was imaged by Spacewatch at Kitt Peak National Observatory from October 6 through November 4, 1999,[8] and originally designated as asteroid 1999 UX18.

[9][10] It was discovered to be in orbit around Jupiter by Tim Spahr on July 18, 2000, and then given the designation S/1999 J 1.

[8] It was named in October 2002 after Callirrhoe, daughter of the river god Achelous, one of Zeus's (Jupiter's) many conquests.

[b] Callirrhoe is about 9.6 kilometers in diameter,[6] and orbits Jupiter at an average distance of 24.1 million kilometers in 747.09 days, at an inclination of 141° to the ecliptic (140° to Jupiter's equator) with an eccentricity of 0.28.

[14] As a navigation exercise, the New Horizons spacecraft imaged Callirrhoe on January 10, 2007.