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201 Penelope

Main-belt asteroid


Main-belt asteroid

FieldValue
minorplanetyes
background#D6D6D6
name201 Penelope
image201 Penelope.png
captionA three-dimensional model of 201 Penelope based on its light curve.
discovererJohann Palisa
discovered7 August 1879
mpc_name(201) Penelope
pronounced
adjectivePenelopean
alt_namesA879 PA; 1869 GA
named_afterPenelópē
mp_categoryMain belt
epoch21 January 2022 (JD 2457600.5)
semimajor2.67958 AU
perihelion2.19929 AU
aphelion3.15987 AU
eccentricity0.17924
period1602.14 days
inclination5.75625°
asc_node156.91554°
arg_peri180.90559°
mean_anomaly169.01173°
avg_speed18.19 km/s
dimensions
rotation3.7474 h
* Tholen {{}} M
* SMASS {{}} X
* B–V {{}} 0.720
* U–B {{}} 0.233
* 8.38<ref name"JPL2022"/
* 8.43<ref name"SBDB"/
* 8.5<ref name"MPC2022"/
* 8.54<ref name"Pravec2012"/
albedo
mean_motion/ day
orbit_ref
observation_arc52077 days
uncertainty0
jupiter_moid2.23013 AU
tisserand3.347
  • Tholen M
  • SMASS X
  • B–V 0.720
  • U–B 0.233
  • 8.38
  • 8.43
  • 8.5
  • 8.54

201 Penelope is a large main belt asteroid that was discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa on August 7, 1879, in Pola. The asteroid is named after Penelope, the wife of Odysseus in Homer's The Odyssey. It is orbiting the Sun at a distance of with an eccentricity (ovalness) of 0.18 and a period of 1600.2 days. The orbital plane is tilted at an angle of 5.8° to the plane of the ecliptic.

Based upon the spectra of this object, it is classified as a M-type asteroid, indicating it may be metallic in composition. It may be the remnant of the core of a larger, differentiated asteroid. Near infrared absorption features indicate the presence of variable amounts of low-iron, low-calcium orthopyroxenes on the surface. Trace amounts of water is detected with a mass fraction of about 0.13–0.15 wt%. It has an estimated size of around 88 km. With a rotation period of 3.74 hours, it is the fastest rotating asteroid larger than 50 km in diameter.

References

References

  1. {{OED. Penelope
  2. "Small-Body Database Lookup".
  3. "IAU Minor Planet Center".
Info: 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.

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