By Ron Cowen
In September 1975, astronomer Charles T. Kowal had his eye on Jupiter, trying to pinpoint the position of a Jovian satellite he had discovered the year before. Sky conditions were perfect, and when Kowal examined his photographs, he found what appeared to be yet another moon of the giant planet. A week later, another astronomer photographed the same object.
That was the last time anyone spotted the body.
On Nov. 21, 2000, however, David C. Jewitt and his colleagues from the University of Hawaii in Honolulu found an intriguing object near Jupiter. Because of its slow motion relative to the stars and its location, the researchers suggested the object was a previously unseen moon.