18 Melpomene
|
|
| Discovery A (http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/lists/NumberedMPs.html) | |
|---|---|
| Discoverer | John Russell Hind |
| Discovery date | June 24, 1852 |
| Alternate designations | B (http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/MPDes.html) |
| Category | Main belt |
| Orbital elements C (http://asteroid.lowell.edu/) Epoch October 22, 2004 (JD 2453300.5) | |
| Eccentricity (e) | 0.218 |
| Semi-major axis (a) | 343.443 Gm (2.296 AU) |
| Perihelion (q) | 268.472 Gm (1.795 AU) |
| Aphelion (Q) | 418.414 Gm (2.797 AU) |
| Orbital period (P) | 1270.552 d (3.48 a) |
| Mean orbital speed | 19.42 km/s |
| Inclination (i) | 10.126° |
| Longitude of the ascending node (Ω) | 150.547° |
| Argument of perihelion (ω) | 227.975° |
| Mean anomaly (M) | 205.245° |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 140.6 km (150×125)1 (http://web.media.mit.edu/~win/hstpub.pdf) |
| Mass | 2.9×1018 kg |
| Density | 2.0? g/cm³ |
| Surface gravity | 0.0393 m/s² |
| Escape velocity | 0.0743 km/s |
| Rotation period | 0.482 21 d (11.573 h) 2 (http://www.astrosurf.com/aude-old/map_files/AstVarMAP01-2003.htm) |
| Spectral class | S |
| Absolute magnitude | 6.51 |
| Albedo | 0.223 3 (http://dorothy.as.arizona.edu/DSN/IRAS/index_iras.html) |
| Mean surface temperature | ~189 K |
18 Melpomene (mel-pom'-a-nee) is a large, bright Main belt asteroid. It is composed of silicates and metals.
It was discovered by J. R. Hind on June 24, 1852 and named after Melpomene, the Muse of tragedy in Greek mythology.
Melpomene occulted the star SAO 114159 on December 11, 1978. A possible satellite with a diameter at least 37 km was detected. The satellite candidate received a premilinary designation S/1978 (18) 1 [1] (http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iauc/03300/03315.html).
Melpomene was observed with the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993. It was able to resolve the asteroid's slightly elongated shape, but no satellites were detected [2] (http://web.media.mit.edu/~win/hstpub.pdf).
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