From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base
61 Danaë
Main-belt asteroid
Main-belt asteroid
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| minorplanet | yes |
| name | 61 Danaë |
| background | #D6D6D6 |
| image | 61 Danae.gif |
| discovery_ref | |
| discoverer | H. Goldschmidt |
| discovery_site | Paris |
| discovered | 9 September 1860 |
| mpc_name | (61) Danaë |
| alt_names | A917 SM |
| pronounced | |
| adjective | Danaëan |
| named_after | Danaë (Greek mythology) |
| mp_category | main-belt(outer) |
| background | |
| orbit_ref | |
| epoch | 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) |
| uncertainty | 0 |
| observation_arc | 151.67 yr (55,398 days) |
| aphelion | 3.4798 AU |
| perihelion | 2.4840 AU |
| semimajor | 2.9819 AU |
| eccentricity | 0.1670 |
| period | 5.15 yr (1,881 days) |
| mean_anomaly | 157.11° |
| mean_motion | / day |
| inclination | 18.212° |
| asc_node | 333.72° |
| arg_peri | 12.695° |
| dimensions | km |
| km | |
| km | |
| km | |
| km | |
| km | |
| mass | |
| density | g/cm3 |
| rotation | h |
| h | |
| albedo | |
| spectral_type | Tholen S |
| SMASS S | |
| B–V 0.852 | |
| U–B 0.402 | |
| abs_magnitude | 7.68 |
background km km km km km h
SMASS S B–V 0.852 U–B 0.402
61 Danaë () is a stony (S-type) asteroid in the outer asteroid belt's background population, approximately 84 kilometer in diameter. It was discovered by French astronomer Hermann Goldschmidt on 9 September 1860, from his balcony in Paris, France. Goldschmidt was ill when asked to name the asteroid, and requested his fellow asteroid-hunter Robert Luther to name it instead. Luther chose to name it after Danaë, the mother of Perseus in Greek mythology. Danaë was the first asteroid to have a diacritical character in its official name.
The asteroid is orbiting the Sun with a period of 5.15 years and is rotating on its axis once every 11.45 hours. In 1985, a study of lightcurve data suggested that Danaë may have a moon. If so, the main body would be an ellipsoid measuring 85 ×, and the moon would orbit 101 km away, measuring 55 ×. The density of both would be .
References
- Alberto Cellino, Renato Pannunzio, Vincenzo Zappalà, Paolo Farinella, and Paolo Paolicchi, 1985, Do we observe light curves of binary asteroids?, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Vol. 144, No. 2, pp. 355–362.
References
- "Danae". [[Oxford University Press]].
- Charles Dickens (1852) ''Household Words'', p. 207
- "Other reports of asteroid/TNO companions".
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.
Ask Mako anything about 61 Danaë — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.
Research with MakoFree with your Surf account
Create a free account to save articles, ask Mako questions, and organize your research.
Sign up freeThis content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.
Report