Ananke (a-nang'-kee, IPA ; Greek Ανάγκη) is one of Jupiter's moons. It was discovered by Seth Barnes Nicholson at Mount Wilson Observatory in 1951 and is named after the mythological Ananke, the mother of Adrastea by Jupiter.

Ananke did not receive its present name until 1975; before then, it was simply known as Jupiter XII. It was sometimes called "Adrastea". Note that Adrastea is now the name of another satellite of Jupiter.

It gives its name to the Ananke group, retrograde irregular moons which orbit Jupiter between 19.3 and 22.7 Gm, at inclinations of roughly 150°.

External links

• Nicholson, S.B., "An unidentified object near Jupiter, probably a new satellite", PASP 63 (1951) 297–299