2 Pallas
Template:Minor Planet 2 Pallas (pal'-us) was the first asteroid discovered after 1 Ceres. It was found and named by H. Wilhelm Olbers on March 28, 1802. It was named after the feminine Pallas of Greek mythology, the daughter of Triton and friend of Athena. There are several other Pallantes (the masculine plural of Pallas) in Greek mythology: amongst them a Titan, and a goatish Giant. However, the first asteroids were invariably given female names.
Pallas is the second largest Main belt asteroid, only a little larger than 4 Vesta. Its orbit is located in the central part of the belt but it is somewhat inclined and eccentric for a large asteroid. The Palladian composition is unique but quite similar to the C-type asteroids.
Pallas has been observed occulting a star several times. Careful occultation timing measurements have helped give it an accurate diameter.
During the occultation of May 29, 1979 the discovery of a possible tiny satellite with a diameter of ~1 km was reported. However, it has not been confirmed. In 1980, speckle interferometry was reported as indicating a much larger satellite with a diameter of 175 km, but the existence of the satellite was later refuted. (1)
Pallas has not yet been visited by a spacecraft, but if the Dawn probe is successful in studying 1 Ceres and 4 Vesta, its mission may be extended to Pallas.
The chemical element palladium (atomic number 46) was named after Pallas.
Aspects
| Stationary, retrorad | Opposition | Stationary, prograd | Conjunction to sun |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 14th, 2005 | March 23rd, 2005 | May 7th, 2005 | November 18th, 2005 |
| May 2nd, 2006 | July 1st, 2006 | August 24th, 2006 | February 1st, 2007 |
| July 6th, 2007 | September 3rd, 2007 | October 22nd, 2007 | March 29th, 2008 |
| October 28th, 2008 | December 4th, 2008 | January 21st, 2009 | September 12th, 2009 |
| March 24th, 2010 | May 3rd, 2010 | July 2nd, 2010 | December 22nd, 2010 |
| May 25th, 2011 | July 29th, 2011 | September 16th, 2011 | February 22nd, 2012 |
| August 9th, 2012 | September 24th, 2012 | November 17th, 2012 | May 9th, 2013 |
| January 5th, 2014 | February 20th, 2014 | March 23rd, 2014 | October 25th, 2014 |
| April 19th, 2015 | June 11th, 2015 | August 7th, 2015 | January 19th, 2016 |
| June 18th, 2016 | August 20th, 2016 | October 7th, 2016 | March 14th, 2017 |
| September 24th, 2017 | October 27th, 2017 | December 23rd, 2017 | August 5th, 2018 |
| March 4th, 2019 | April 8th, 2019 | June 1st, 2019 | December 2nd, 2019 |
| May 10th, 2020 | July 12th, 2020 | September 1st, 2020 | February 9th, 2021 |
References
- James L. Hilton, U.S. Naval Observatory Ephemerides of the Largest Asteroids (1999)
- E. V. Pitjeva, Estimations of Masses of the Largest Asteroids and the Main Asteroid Belt From Ranging to Planets, Mars Orbiters And Landers (2004)
- IRAS Minor Planet Survey