54 Alexandra
.png)
A three-dimensional model of 54 Alexandra based on its light curve.
|
|
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Hermann Mayer Salomon Goldschmidt |
| Discovery date | September 10, 1858 |
| Designations | |
|
Named after
|
Alexander von Humboldt |
| Main belt | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch December 31, 2006 (JD 2454100.5) | |
| Aphelion | 485.483 Gm (3.245 AU) |
| Perihelion | 326.043 Gm (2.179 AU) |
| 405.763 Gm (2.712 AU) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.196 |
| Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). | |
|
Average orbital speed
|
17.91 km/s |
| 103.809° | |
| Inclination | 11.804° |
| 313.446° | |
| 345.594° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 165.8[1] km |
| Mass | (6.16 ± 3.50) × 1018[2] kg |
|
Mean density
|
3.50 ± 2.11[2] g/cm3 |
| 0.0463 m/s² | |
| 0.0877 km/s | |
| 18.14[3] h | |
| Albedo | 0.056[1][4] |
| Temperature | ~169 K |
|
Spectral type
|
C[1] |
| 7.66[1] | |
54 Alexandra is a very large and dark main-belt asteroid. It was discovered by German-French astronomer Hermann Goldschmidt on September 10, 1858, and named after the German explorer Alexander von Humboldt; it was the first asteroid to be named after a male.[5]
On May 17, 2005, this asteroid occulted a faint star (magnitude 8.5) and the event was observed and timed in a number of locations within the U.S. and Mexico. As a result, a silhouette profile was produced, yielding a roughly oval cross-section with dimensions of 160 × 135 km (± 1 km).[6]
Photometric observations of this asteroid during 1990–92 gave a light curve with a period of 18.14 ± 0.04 hours and a brightness variation of 0.10 in magnitude.[3] Alexandra has been studied by radar.[7] It was the namesake and largest member of the former Alexandra asteroid family; a dynamic group of C-type asteroids that share similar orbital elements. Other members included 70 Panopaea and 145 Adeona.[8] 145 Adeona was subsequently assigned to the Adeona family, with Alexandra and Panopaea being dropped.[9]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. See Table 1.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Asteroid Data Sets
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ D.W. Dunham, "Upcoming Asteroid Occultations", Sky & Telescope, June, 2006, p. 63.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. See p. 2045 and family 44.
External links
<templatestyles src="Asbox/styles.css"></templatestyles>
_mathilde.jpg){kind=small} |
This article about a C-type asteroid native to the asteroid belt is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
