181 Eucharis

181 Eucharis

Discovery
Discovered by	Pablo Cottenot
Discovery date	February 2, 1878
Designations
Alternative names	A906 GA
Minor planet category	Main belt
Orbital characteristics
Epoch June 14, 2006 (JD 2453900.5)
Aphelion	562.742 Gm (3.762 AU)
Perihelion	376.603 Gm (2.517 AU)
Semi-major axis	469.672 Gm (3.140 AU)
Eccentricity	0.198
Orbital period	2031.902 d (5.56 a)
Average orbital speed	16.64 km/s
Mean anomaly	95.743°
Inclination	18.801°
Longitude of ascending node	143.652°
Argument of perihelion	317.284°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	106.0 km
Rotation period	52.23 h
Albedo	0.115 4
Spectral type	S (Tholen) Xk (Bus)
Absolute magnitude (H)	7.84

181 Eucharis is a large, slowly rotating main-belt asteroid that was discovered by French astronomer Pablo Cottenot on February 2, 1878, from Marseille Observatory. It was his only asteroid discovery. This object was named after Eucharis, a Greek nymph.

In the Tholen classification system, it is categorized as a stony S-type asteroid, while the Bus asteroid taxonomy system lists it as an Xk asteroid. Photometric observations of this asteroid at the Goat Mountain Astronomical Research Station in Rancho Cucamonga, California during 2007 gave a light curve with a leisurely rotation period of 52.23 ± 0.05 hours.

This object is the namesake of a family of 149–778 asteroids that share similar spectral properties and orbital elements; hence they may have arisen from the same collisional event. All members have a relatively high orbital inclination.