174 Phaedra

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174 Phaedra
A three-dimensional model of 174 Phaedra based on its light curve.
Discovery
Discovered byJ. C. Watson
Discovery date2 September 1877
Designations
(174) Phaedra
Pronunciation/ˈfdrə/[1]
A877 RA
Main belt
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc138.61 yr (50629 d)
Aphelion3.2658 AU (488.56 Gm)
Perihelion2.4572 AU (367.59 Gm)
2.8615 AU (428.07 Gm)
Eccentricity0.14128
4.84 yr (1768.0 d)
330.70°
0° 12m 13.032s / day
Inclination12.124°
327.69°
289.08°
Earth MOID1.47439 AU (220.566 Gm)
Jupiter MOID1.99981 AU (299.167 Gm)
TJupiter3.254
Physical characteristics
Mean radius
34.62±2.2 km
5.744 h (0.2393 d)
0.1495±0.021
S
8.48

Phaedra (minor planet designation: 174 Phaedra) is a sizable, rocky main belt asteroid that was discovered by Canadian-American astronomer James Craig Watson on September 2, 1877, and named after Phaedra, the tragic lovelorn queen in Greek mythology.

The asteroid is orbiting the Sun with a period of 4.84 years and an eccentricity of 0.14. Lightcurve data obtained from Phaedra indicates a rather irregular or elongated body. It has a cross-section size of ~35 km. Photometric observations of this asteroid at the Shadowbox Observatory in Carmel, Indiana, during 2009 gave a light curve with a period of 4.96 ± 0.01 hours. This is consistent with previous studies in 1977, 1988, and 2008.[3] The asteroid's pole of rotation lies just 5–16° away from the plane of the ecliptic.[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Noah Webster (1884) A Practical Dictionary of the English Language
  2. ^ Yeomans, Donald K., "174 Phaedra", JPL Small-Body Database Browser, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, retrieved 6 May 2016.
  3. ^ Ruthroff, John C. (July 2009), "Photometric Observations and Lightcurve Analysis of Asteroids 129 Antigone, 174 Phaedra, 232 Russia, 291 Alice, and 343 Ostara", The Minor Planet Bulletin, vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 121–122, Bibcode:2009MPBu...36..121R.
  4. ^ Marciniak, A.; et al. (May 2011), "Photometry and models of selected main belt asteroids. VIII. Low-pole asteroids", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 529: 14, Bibcode:2011A&A...529A.107M, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201015365, A107

External links[edit]