162173 Ryugu
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | LINEAR |
| Discovery date | 10 May 1999 |
| Designations | |
Named after | Ryūgū-jō |
| 1999 JU3 | |
| Apollo asteroid | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 2014-Dec-09 (JD 2457000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Aphelion | 1.4158 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.9632 AU |
| 1.1895 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1903 |
| 1.2974 years (473.9 days) | |
| 114.3264° | |
| Inclination | 5.8839° |
| 251.6117° | |
| 211.4257° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 980 ± 29 m[2] |
| 7.627 hours | |
Spectral type | Cg |
| 19.2 | |
162173 Ryugu (provisional designation 1999 JU3) is an Apollo asteroid. It is planned that the Japanese space probe Hayabusa 2 returns samples from this asteroid by December 2020. It is the rare spectral type Cg, having qualities of both a C-type asteroid and a G-type asteroid.
History
Discovery
Ryugu was discovered in 1999 by the LINEAR project, and was given the provisional designation 1999 JU3.
Name
The asteroid was officially named Ryugu on 5 October 2015.[3] Its name refers to Ryūgū-jō (Dragon's Palace), a wonderful and magical palace on the bottom of the ocean where Urashima Tarō, in a Japanese folktale, was brought by a turtle. When he returned, he brought back with him a mysterious box—much as Hayabusa 2 will bring back a capsule with samples.
See also
References
- ^ JPL Small-Body Database Browser
- ^ Hasegawa, S.; et al. (2008). "Albedo, Size, and Surface Characteristics of Hayabusa-2 Sample-Return Target 162173 1999 JU3 from AKARI". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 60 (SP2): S399 – S405. doi:10.1093/pasj/60.sp2.s399.
- ^ "Name Selection of Asteroid 1999 JU3 Target of the Asteroid Explorer "Hayabusa2"" (Press release). JAXA. October 5, 2015. Retrieved 2015-10-06.
Bibliography
- Abe, M.; et al. (2008). Ground-based observational campaign for asteroid 162173 1999 JU3 (PDF). 37th COSPAR Scientific Assembly. Lunar and Planetary Science. Vol. 39. p. 1594.
- Campins, H.; et al. (2009). "Spitzer observations of spacecraft target 162173 (1999 JU3)". Astronomy and Astrophysics Letters. 503: L17. arXiv:0908.0796. Bibcode:2009A&A...503L..17C. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200912374.
- Hasegawa, S.; et al. (2008). "Albedo, Size, and Surface Characteristics of Hayabusa-2 Sample-Return Target 162173 1999 JU3 from AKARI". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 60 (SP2): S399 – S405. doi:10.1093/pasj/60.sp2.s399.
- Vilas, F. (2008). "Spectral Characteristics of Hayabusa 2 Near-Earth Asteroid Targets 162173 1999 Ju3 and 2001 Qc34". Astronomical Journal. 135: 1101. Bibcode:2008AJ....135.1101V. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/135/4/1101.
- "International Symposium Marco Polo and other Small Body Sample Return Missions: Programme and Presentations". European Space Agency. 18–20 May 2009.