Wikipedia
Himalia may refer to:
- Himalia (moon), a moon of the planet Jupiter
- Himalia (mythology), a nymph from Cyprus in Greek mythology
Himalia ( or ; ) is the largest irregular satellite of Jupiter, the sixth largest overall in size, and only the four Galilean moons of Jupiter have greater mass. It was discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine at the Lick Observatory on 3 December 1904 and is named after the nymph Himalia, who bore three sons of Zeus (the Greek equivalent of Jupiter). It is one of the largest planetary moons in the Solar System not imaged in detail, and the largest not including the moons of Neptune and several trans-Neptunian objects, particularly that of the second-largest-but-most-massive dwarf planet, Eris.
In Greek mythology Himalia is a nymph of the eastern end of the island of Rhodes. According to Diodorus Siculus Zeus was enamoured with her and she produced three sons with him, Spartaios, Kronios, and Kytos: of them nothing further survives in writing. Jennifer Larson observes that the dictionary compiler Hesychius of Alexandria gives ίμαλιά. denoting an abundance of wheat meal, and notes the agricultural connotations of the sons' names: ""Spartaios recalls sowing, and Kytos means a basket or jar.'' Kronios'' denotes a descendent of Kronos, the god of the Golden Age", a mythic time of ease and abundance.