18 Melpomene

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18 Melpomene  18 Melpomene symbol.svg
Discovery
Discovered by John Russell Hind
Discovery date June 24, 1852
Designations
Named after Melpomène
Alternate name(s) none
Minor planet
category
Main belt
Epoch October 22, 2004 (JD 2453300.5)
Aphelion 418.414 Gm (2.797 AU)
Perihelion 268.472 Gm (1.795 AU)
Semi-major axis 343.443 Gm (2.296 AU)
Eccentricity 0.218
Orbital period 1270.552 d (3.48 a)
Average orbital speed 19.42 km/s
Mean anomaly 205.245°
Inclination 10.126°
Longitude of ascending node 150.547°
Argument of perihelion 227.975°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 170x155x129 km[2]
(150×125 km)[3]
(150×170 km)[4]
140.6 ± 2.8 km (IRAS)[1]
Mass 3.0×1018 kg[2]
Mean density 1.69±0.66 g/cm3[2]
Equatorial surface gravity ~0.0393 m/s2
Escape velocity ~0.0743 km/s
Rotation period 0.482 21 d (11.57 h)[1][5]
Albedo 0.223 (geometric[1][6]
Temperature ~177 K
Spectral type S[1]
Apparent magnitude 7.5[7] to 12.0
Absolute magnitude (H) 6.51[1]
Angular diameter 0.23" to 0.059"

18 Melpomene (play /mɛlˈpɒmɨn/ mel-pom-i-nee; Greek: Μελπομένη) is a large, bright main-belt asteroid. It is composed of silicates and metals.

It was discovered by J. R. Hind on June 24, 1852, and named after Melpomene, the Muse of tragedy in Greek mythology.

Melpomene occulted the star SAO 114159 on December 11, 1978. A possible Melpomenean satellite with a diameter at least 37 km was detected. The satellite candidate received a provisional designation S/1978 (18) 1.[8]

Melpomene was observed with the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993. It was able to resolve the asteroid's slightly elongated shape, but no satellites were detected.[3]

Melpomene has been studied by radar.[9]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 18 Melpomene". 2008-09-21 last obs. http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=18. Retrieved 2008-11-26. 
  2. ^ a b c Jim Baer (2008). "Recent Asteroid Mass Determinations". Personal Website. http://home.earthlink.net/~jimbaer1/astmass.txt. Retrieved 2008-11-27. 
  3. ^ a b Storrs, Alex; Weiss; Zellner; Burlsen; et al. (1999). "Imaging Observations of Asteroids with Hubble Space Telescope". Icarus 137 (2): 260–268. Bibcode 1999Icar..137..260S. doi:10.1006/icar.1999.6047. http://web.media.mit.edu/~win/hstpub.pdf. Retrieved 2008-11-03. 
  4. ^ Storrs, Alex; Dunne; Conan; Mugnier; et al. (2005). "A closer look at main belt asteroids 1: WF/PC images". Icarus 173 (2): 409–416. Bibcode 2005Icar..173..409S. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2004.08.007. http://scripts.mit.edu/~paleomag/articles/Storrs_Weiss_2005_Icarus.pdf. Retrieved 2008-11-26. 
  5. ^ "LIGHTCURVES AND MAP DATA ON NUMBERED ASTEROIDS N° 1 TO 52225". AstroSurf. Archived from the original on 2005-11-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20051127063200/http://www.astrosurf.com/aude-old/map_files/AstVarMAP01-2003.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-03. 
  6. ^ "Asteroid Data Archive". Planetary Science Institute. Archived from the original on 2006-06-23. http://web.archive.org/web/20060623213811/http://www.psi.edu/pds/archive/astdata04/simps04/diamalb.tab. Retrieved 2008-11-03. 
  7. ^ Donald H. Menzel and Jay M. Pasachoff (1983). A Field Guide to the Stars and Planets (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. p. 391. ISBN 0-395-34835-8. 
  8. ^ "IAUC 3315: 1978 (18) 1; WZ Sge". Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/iauc/03300/03315.html. Retrieved 2011-07-05. 
  9. ^ "Radar-Detected Asteroids and Comets". NASA/JPL Asteroid Radar Research. http://echo.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroids/. Retrieved 2011-10-30. 

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