Other attributes
Origin
The very low dispersion of the mean1 orbital elements among the core members (the group is separated by less than 700,000 km in semi major axis and less than 0.7° in inclination) suggests that the Carme group may once have been a single body that was broken apart by an impact. The dispersion can be explained by a very small velocity impulse (5 < δV < 50 m/s). The parent body was probably about the size of Carme, 46 km in diameter; 99% of the group's mass is still located in Carme.
This diagram shows the compactness of the Carme group.
Further support to the single body origin comes from the known colours: all2 the satellites appear light red, with colour indices B-V= 0.76 and V-R= 0.47 and infrared spectra, similar to D-type asteroids. These data are consistent with a progenitor from the Hilda family or a Jupiter Trojan.
