3908 Nyx
Amor and Mars-crosser asteroid
title: "3908 Nyx" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["amor-asteroids", "discoveries-by-hans-emil-schuster", "named-minor-planets", "v-type-asteroids-(tholen)", "unclassifiable-asteroids-(smass)", "astronomical-objects-discovered-in-1980", "nyx"] description: "Amor and Mars-crosser asteroid" topic_path: "general/amor-asteroids" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3908_Nyx" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Amor and Mars-crosser asteroid ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox planet"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| minorplanet | yes |
| background | #FFC2E0 |
| name | 3908 Nyx |
| image | 3908 nyx-s02.jpg |
| discoverer | Hans-Emil Schuster |
| discovered | 6 August 1980 |
| mpc_name | (3908) Nyx |
| alt_names | 1980 PA; |
| pronounced | |
| named_after | Nyx |
| adjectives | Nyctian |
| mp_category | Amor; Mars-crosser |
| epoch | 27 July 2005 (JD 2453578.5) |
| semimajor | 1.92719 AU |
| perihelion | 1.04239 AU |
| aphelion | 2.81198 AU |
| eccentricity | 0.45911 |
| period | 2.68 yr (977.20 d) |
| inclination | 2.17667° |
| asc_node | 261.688° |
| arg_peri | 125.978° |
| mean_anomaly | 99.7699° |
| rotation | 4.42601 h |
| spectral_type | V |
| abs_magnitude | 17.3 |
| albedo | 0.23 |
| mean_motion | / day |
| orbit_ref | |
| mean_radius | 0.5 ± 0.075 km |
| observation_arc | 13021 days (35.65 yr) |
| uncertainty | 0 |
| moid | 0.0563399 AU |
| :: |
::callout[type=note] the Mars-crossing asteroid ::
| minorplanet=yes | background=#FFC2E0 | name=3908 Nyx | image=3908 nyx-s02.jpg | image_scale = | discoverer=Hans-Emil Schuster | discovered=6 August 1980 | mpc_name=(3908) Nyx | alt_names=1980 PA; | pronounced = | named_after=Nyx | adjectives=Nyctian | mp_category=Amor; Mars-crosser | epoch=27 July 2005 (JD 2453578.5) | semimajor=1.92719 AU | perihelion=1.04239 AU | aphelion=2.81198 AU | eccentricity=0.45911 | period=2.68 yr (977.20 d) | inclination=2.17667° | asc_node=261.688° | arg_peri=125.978° | mean_anomaly=99.7699° | rotation=4.42601 h | spectral_type=V | abs_magnitude=17.3 | albedo=0.23 | mean_motion= / day | orbit_ref= | mean_radius=0.5 ± 0.075 km | observation_arc=13021 days (35.65 yr) | uncertainty=0 | moid=0.0563399 AU
3908 Nyx is an Amor and Mars-crosser asteroid. It was discovered by Hans-Emil Schuster on August 6, 1980, and is named after Nyx, the Greek goddess of the night, after which Pluto's moon Nix is also named. It is 1 - in diameter and is a V-type asteroid, meaning that it may be a fragment of the asteroid 4 Vesta.
Observations
In 2000, radar observations conducted at the Arecibo and Goldstone observatories produced a model of Nyx's shape; the asteroid can best be described as spherical but with many protruding lumps.
Name
To avoid confusion with 3908 Nyx, Pluto's moon Nix was changed from the initial proposal of the classical spelling Nyx, to Nix.{{cite web | title=Planet and Satellite Names and Discoverers | work=Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature | publisher=USGS Astrogeology | date=July 21, 2006 | url=https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/append7.html | access-date=2006-08-15 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060819065838/http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/append7.html| archive-date= 19 August 2006 | url-status= live}}
References
References
- "3908 Nyx (1980 PA)". [[NASA]]/[[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]].
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::