The members of the Pasiphae group are:[1] The International Astronomical Union (IAU) reserves names ending in -e for all retrograde moons.
The Pasiphae group is believed to have been formed when Jupiter captured an asteroid which subsequently broke up after a collision.
This is because the Pasiphae group, while similar in semi-major axis, is more widely dispersed in inclination.
[note 2] Alternatively, Sinope might be not a part of the remnants of the same collision and captured independently instead.
[6] The differences in color class between the objects (grey for Pasiphae, light red for Callirrhoe and Megaclite) also suggest that the group could have a more complex origin than a single collision.
This diagram illustrates the largest irregular satellites of Jupiter. Among the Pasiphae group, Sinope and Pasiphae itself are labelled. An object's position on the horizontal axis indicates its distance from Jupiter. The vertical axis indicates its
inclination
.
Eccentricity
is indicated by yellow bars illustrating the object's maximum and minimum distances from Jupiter. Circles illustrate an object's size in comparison to the others.
This diagram compares the orbital elements and relative sizes of the core members of the Pasiphae group. The horizontal axis illustrates their average distance from Jupiter, the vertical axis their orbital inclination, and the circles their relative sizes.
This diagram compares the wide dispersion of the Pasiphae group (red) with the more compact Ananke (blue) and Carme (green) groups.
