The Himalia group is a group of prograde

Prograde

Prograde can refer to:*Prograde or direct motion, in astronomy, a type of motion of astronomical bodies* Prograde metamorphism, in geology, describes mineral changes in rocks under increasing pressure and/or temperature conditions...

 irregular satellite

Irregular satellite

In astronomy, an irregular moon is a natural satellite following a distant, inclined, and often eccentric and retrograde orbit. They are believed to have been captured by their parent planet, unlike regular satellites, which form in situ....

s of Jupiter

Jupiter

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...

 that follow similar orbit

Orbit

In physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of an object around a point in space, for example the orbit of a planet around the center of a star system, such as the Solar System...

s to Himalia and are thought to have a common origin.

The known members of the group are (in order of increasing distance from Jupiter):

• Leda
  Leda (moon)
  Leda , also known as ', is a prograde irregular satellite of Jupiter. It was discovered by Charles T. Kowal at the Mount Palomar Observatory on September 14, 1974, after three nights' worth of photographic plates had been taken...
  
  
• Himalia
  Himalia (moon)
  Himalia is the largest irregular satellite of Jupiter, the sixth largest overall in size, and the fifth largest in 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 .- Discovery...
  
   (the largest, which gives its name to the group)
• Lysithea
  Lysithea (moon)
  Lysithea is a prograde irregular satellite of Jupiter. It was discovered by Seth Barnes Nicholson in 1938 at Mount Wilson Observatory and is named after the mythological Lysithea, daughter of Oceanus and one of Zeus' lovers....
  
  
• Elara
  Elara (moon)
  Elara is a prograde irregular satellite of Jupiter. It was discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine at Lick Observatory in 1905. It is the eighth largest moon of Jupiter and is named after the mother by Zeus of the giant Tityus....
  
  

The object provisionally designated S/2000 J 11

S/2000 J 11

S/2000 J 11 was an object believed to be the second-outermost prograde irregular satellite of Jupiter. It was discovered by a team of astronomers from the University of Hawaii led by Scott S. Sheppard in 2000....

 was formerly considered as a candidate for membership in the Himalia group, but it is no longer considered to be an existing satellite of Jupiter.

The International Astronomical Union

International Astronomical Union

The International Astronomical Union IAU is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy...

 (IAU) reserves names in -a for the moons in this group.
The objects in the Himalia group have semi-major axes (distances from Jupiter) in the range of 11.15 and 11.75 Gm

Gigametre

A gigametre is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one billion meters, the SI base unit of length, hence to 1,000,000 km or approximately 621,370 miles....

, inclinations between 26.6° and 28.3°, and eccentricities of between 0.11 and 0.25.
In physical appearance, the group is very homogenous, all satellites displaying neutral colours (colour indices

Color index

In astronomy, the color index is a simple numerical expression that determines the color of an object, which in the case of a star gives its temperature...

 B−V = 0.66 and V−R = 0.36) similar to those of C-type asteroid

C-type asteroid

C-type asteroids are carbonaceous asteroids. They are the most common variety, forming around 75% of known asteroids, and an even higher percentage in the outer part of the asteroid belt beyond 2.7 AU, which is dominated by this asteroid type...

s.