259 Aletheia
| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. H. F. Peters |
| Discovery site | Litchfield Obs., Clinton |
| Discovery date | 28 June 1886 |
| Designations | |
| (259) Aletheia | |
Named after | Aletheia[2] |
| 1947 LD | |
| main-belt | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 27 June 2015 (JD 2457200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 117.00 yr (42,736 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.5353 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.7347 AU |
| 3.1350 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1276 |
| 5.55 yr (2027.5 days) | |
| 71.260° | |
| Inclination | 10.813° |
| 86.864° | |
| 168.07° | |
| Earth MOID | 1.7207 AU |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 178.60 km 190.05±6.82 km[3] |
| Mass | (7.79±0.43)×1018 kg[3] |
Mean density | 2.16 ± 0.26[3] g/cm3 |
| 8.143 h | |
| 0.0436 | |
| B–V = 0.698 U–B = 0.311 CP (Tholen), X (SMASS) | |
| 7.76 | |
259 Aletheia is a very large main-belt asteroid that was discovered by German–American astronomer Christian Peters on June 28, 1886, at Litchfield Observatory, Clinton, New York. The dark and heterogeneously composed X-type (Tholen: CP-type) asteroid contains primitive carbonaceous materials, responsible for its low albedo of 0.04. Aletheia measures about 185 kilometers in diameter and belongs to the largest asteroids of the main-belt. It has a semi-major axis of 3.1 AU and an orbit inclined by 11 degrees with a period of 5.55 years.[1]
Richard P. Binzel and Schelte Bus further added to the knowledge about this asteroid in a lightwave survey published in 2003. This project was known as Small Main-belt Asteroid Spectroscopic Survey, Phase II or SMASSII, which built on a previous survey of the main-belt asteroids. The visible-wavelength (0.435-0.925 micrometre) spectra data was gathered between August 1993 and March 1999.[4][5]
Lightcurve data has also been recorded by observers at the Antelope Hill Observatory, which has been designated as an official observatory by the Minor Planet Center.[6]
It is named after the Greek goddess of truth, Aletheia, the daughter of Zeus and one of the nurses of Apollo.[2]
References
- ^ a b c "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 259 Aletheia" (2015-09-15 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- ^ a b Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (259) Aletheia. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 38. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- ^ a b c Carry, B. (December 2012), "Density of asteroids", Planetary and Space Science, vol. 73, pp. 98–118, arXiv:1203.4336, Bibcode:2012P&SS...73...98C, doi:10.1016/j.pss.2012.03.009. See Table 1.
- ^ Bus, S., Binzel, R. P. Small Main-belt Asteroid Spectroscopic Survey, Phase II. EAR-A-I0028-4-SBN0001/SMASSII-V1.0. NASA Planetary Data System, 2003.
- ^ JPL Small-Body Database Browser
- ^ Lightcurve Results
External links
- "259 Aletheia". JPL Small-Body Database. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. SPK-ID: 2000259.
- The Asteroid Orbital Elements Database
- Minor Planet Discovery Circumstances
- Asteroid Lightcurve Data File
- 259 Aletheia at the JPL Small-Body Database
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