It was discovered by Seth Barnes Nicholson in 1938 at Mount Wilson Observatory[1] and is named after the mythological Lysithea, daughter of Oceanus and one of Zeus' lovers.

[10] Lysithea did not receive its present name until 1975; before then, it was simply known as Jupiter X.

It belongs to the Himalia group, moons orbiting between 11 and 13 Gm from Jupiter at an inclination of about 28.3°.

They are continuously changing due to solar and planetary perturbations.

It is gray[failed verification] in color (B−V=0.72, V−R=0.36, V−I=0.74) and intermediate between C-type and P-type asteroids.