43 Ariadne

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43 Ariadne
Discovery
Discovered by N. R. Pogson
Discovery date April 15, 1857
Designations
Alternative names none
Minor planet
category		 Main belt (Flora family)
Epoch November 26, 2005 (JD 2453700.5)
Aphelion 384.954 Gm (2.573 AU)
Perihelion 274.339 Gm (1.834 AU)
Semi-major axis 329.646 Gm (2.204 AU)
Eccentricity 0.168
Orbital period 1194.766 d (3.27 a)
Average orbital speed 19.92 km/s
Mean anomaly 101.582°
Inclination 3.464°
Longitude of ascending node 264.937°
Argument of perihelion 15.948°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 95×60×50 km[1][2][3]
Mass ~4.0×1017 kg (estimate)
Mean density ~2.7 g/cm³ (estimate)[5]
Equatorial surface gravity ~0.012 m/s² (estimate)
Escape velocity ~0.034 km/s (estimate)
Rotation period 0.2401 d [4]
Albedo 0.274 (geometric)[1]
Temperature ~178 K
max: 275K (+2° C)
Spectral type S-type asteroid
Apparent magnitude 8.78 to 13.29
Absolute magnitude 7.93
Angular diameter 0.11" to 0.025"

43 Ariadne (IPA: /ˌæriˈædni/) is a fairly large and bright main belt asteroid. It is the second-largest member of the Flora asteroid family. It was discovered by N. R. Pogson on April 15, 1857 and named after the Greek heroine Ariadne.

Contents

[edit] Characteristics

Ariadne is very elongate (almost twice as long as its smallest dimension) and likely bi-lobed[3] or at least very angular. It is a retrograde rotator, although its pole points almost parallel to the ecliptic towards ecliptic coordinates (β, λ) = (-15°, 235°) with a 10° uncertainty[2]. This gives an axial tilt of about 105°.

[edit] Trivia

  • For reasons unknown, "Asteroid 43 Ariadne" was included in a list of names of supporters of the NASA spacecraft Stardust that was stored on a microchip within the spacecraft.
  • The maximum apparent size of Ariadne is equivalent to the maximum apparent size of Pluto.


[edit] References

  2. M. Kaasalainen, J. Torppa & J. Piironen Models of Twenty Asteroids from Photometric Data, Icarus, Vol. 159, p. 369 (2002).
  3. P. Tanga et al Asteroid observations with the Hubble Space Telescope, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Vol. 401, p. 733 (2003).
  4. PDS lightcurve data
  5. G. A. Krasinsky et al Hidden Mass in the Asteroid Belt, Icarus, Vol. 158, p. 98 (2002).


[edit] External links


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