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4486 Mithra

Eccentric asteroid and suspected contact-binary

Field	Value
minorplanet	yes
name	4486 Mithra
background	#FFC2E0
image	4486 Mithra Radar.gif
caption	Radar image of the Asteroid.
discovery_ref
discovered	22 September 1987
discoverer	{{Ubl
discovery_site	Rozhen Obs. Smolyan
mpc_name	(4486) Mithra
alt_names	{{Hlist
pronounced
named_after	Mithra
(proto-Indo-Iranian religion)
mp_category	{{Hlist
PHA<ref name	"jpldata" /
orbit_ref
epoch	4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
uncertainty	0
observation_arc	29.04 yr (10,607 days)
aphelion	3.6582 AU
perihelion	0.7417 AU
time_periastron	2023-May-15
semimajor	2.2000 AU
eccentricity	0.6629
period	3.26 yr (1,192 days)
mean_anomaly	91.928°
mean_motion	/ day
inclination	3.0395°
asc_node	82.240°
arg_peri	168.87°
moid	0.0463 AU (18 LD)
mean_diameter	{{Ubl
{{val	1.849	0.022	u	km}}
2.25 km <ref name	"lcdb" /
rotation	{{Ubl
{{val	67.5	6	ul	h}}
{{val	100	u	h}}
albedo	{{Ubl
0.20 <ref name	"lcdb" /
<ref name	"WISE" /
spectral_type	S
abs_magnitude	{{Hlist
15.6<ref name	"jpldata" /
<ref name	"Veres-2015" /

4486 Mithra (prov. designation: ), is an eccentric asteroid and suspected contact-binary, classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid, approximately 2 kilometers in diameter. It belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids and is a relatively slow rotator.

The asteroid was discovered on 22 September 1987, by Belgian astronomer Eric Elst and Bulgarian astronomer Vladimir Shkodrov at Rozhen Observatory, in the Smolyan Province of Bulgaria. It was named after the Indo-Iranian divinity Mithra.

Orbit and classification

Mithra orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.7–3.7 AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,192 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.66 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic. In 1974, Mithra was first identified as at Crimea–Nauchnij. The body's observation arc begins 8 months prior to its official discovery observation, with a precovery taken at the Japanese Kiso Observatory in January 1987.

Close approaches

As a potentially hazardous asteroid, it has a low minimum orbit intersection distance with Earth of 0.0462 AU. On 14 August 2000, it passed 0.0465 AU from Earth.

Date	JPL Horizons
nominal geocentric
distance (AU)	uncertainty
region
([3-sigma](3-sigma))
2023-Apr-11 16:49	0.16267 AU	±

Date	JPL Horizons
nominal geocentric
distance (AU)	uncertainty
region
([3-sigma](3-sigma))
2150-Nov-04 17:06 ± 00:18	0.01382 AU	±

Physical characteristics

Rotation period and shape

Radar imaging using a delay-Doppler technique at the Arecibo and Goldstone observatories rendered a rotation period of hours. Based on the radar analysis, Mithra is also a strong candidate for a contact binary, which is composed of two distinct lobes in mutual contact, held together by their weak gravitational attraction. They typically show a bifurcated, dumbbell-like shape (also see 4769 Castalia). A large number of near-Earth objects are believed to be contact-binaries.

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Mithra measures 1.85 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.297, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 2.25 kilometer with an absolute magnitude of 15.6.

Naming

This minor planet was named after Mithra (also see Mitra), deity in the proto-Indo-Iranian religion. The mystery religion of Mithraism was practiced in the Roman Empire between the 1st and 4th century. Considered to be a rival of early Christianity, both religions shared similar characteristics such as elevation and the ritual of baptism. In the Hellenistic world, Mithra was conflated with Apollo. The asteroid 1862 Apollo is the namesake of this asteroid's orbital group. The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 5 September 1990 (M.P.C. 16885).

References

{{OED. Mithras, Mithra

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.

apollo-asteroids discoveries-by-eric-walter-elst discoveries-by-vladimir-shkodrov named-minor-planets contact-binary-(small-solar-system-body) potentially-hazardous-asteroids s-type-asteroids astronomical-objects-discovered-in-1987 near-earth-objects-in-2023

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