171 Ophelia
Ophelia (minor planet designation: 171 Ophelia) is a large, dark Themistian asteroid that was discovered by French astronomer Alphonse Borrelly on 13 January 1877, and named after Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet.
3D convex shape model of 171 Ophelia | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | A. Borrelly |
| Discovery date | 13 January 1877 |
| Designations | |
MPC designation | (171) Ophelia |
| Pronunciation | /oʊˈfiːliə/ |
Alternative designations | A877 AB |
Minor planet category | Main belt (Themis) |
| Adjectives | Ophelian /ɒˈfiːliən/ |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 122.15 yr (44615 d) |
| Aphelion | 3.5476 AU (530.71 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 2.7175 AU (406.53 Gm) |
Semi-major axis | 3.1326 AU (468.63 Gm) |
| Eccentricity | 0.13249 |
Orbital period (sidereal) | 5.54 yr (2025.1 d) |
Mean anomaly | 11.164° |
Mean motion | 0° 10m 39.972s / day |
| Inclination | 2.5461° |
Longitude of ascending node | 100.52° |
| 56.849° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter | 130.808±1.483 km |
| Mass | (1.064 ± 0.535/0.351)×1018 kg |
Mean density | 1.755 ± 0.883/0.579 g/cm3 |
Synodic rotation period | 6.66535 h (0.277723 d) |
| 0.0615±0.004 | |
| C | |
| 8.31 | |
This asteroid is a member of the Themis family of asteroids that share similar orbital elements. It probably has a primitive composition, similar to that of the carbonaceous chondrite meteorites.
A 1979 study of the Algol-like light curve produced by this asteroid concluded that it was possible to model the brightness variation by assuming a binary system with a circular orbit, a period of 13.146 hours, and an inclination of 15° to the line of sight from the Earth. Photometric observations of this asteroid at the Leura Observatory in Leura, Australia during 2006 gave a rotation period of 6.6666 ± 0.0002 hours and a brightness variation of 0.50 ± 0.02 in magnitude. This is in agreement with previous studies.
Ophelia is also the name of a moon of Uranus.