MFS_063_SINOPE

Sinope is generally considered a member of the Pasiphae group, a family of Jovian satellites which have similar orbits and are therefore thought to have a common origin. However, there is some uncertainty about whether Sinope belongs in this group or not. Most or all of the Pasiphae satellites are thought to have begun as a single asteroid that, after being captured by Jupiter's gravity, suffered a collision which broke off a number of pieces. The bulk of the original asteroid survived as the moon called Pasiphae, and the other pieces became some or all of the other moons in the group. All of the Pasiphae moons are retrograde, so they orbit Jupiter in the opposite direction from the planet...View all