201 Penelope
Penelope (minor planet designation: 201 Penelope) is a large main belt asteroid that was discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa on August 7, 1879, in Pola. The asteroid is named after Penelope, the wife of Odysseus in Homer's The Odyssey. It is orbiting the Sun at a distance of 2.68 AU with an eccentricity (ovalness) of 0.18 and a period of 4.381 years. The orbital plane is tilted at an angle of 5.8° to the plane of the ecliptic.
A three-dimensional model of 201 Penelope based on its light curve. | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Johann Palisa |
| Discovery date | 7 August 1879 |
| Designations | |
MPC designation | (201) Penelope |
| Pronunciation | /pɪˈnɛləpiː/ |
Named after | Penelópē |
Alternative designations | A879 PA; 1869 GA |
Minor planet category | Main belt |
| Adjectives | Penelopean /pɪˈnɛloʊˈpiːən/ |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 21 January 2022 (JD 2457600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 142.58 yr (52,077 d) |
| Aphelion | 3.160 AU (472.710 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 2.199 AU (329.009 Gm) |
Semi-major axis | 2.680 AU (400.859 Gm) |
| Eccentricity | 0.17924 |
Orbital period (sidereal) | 4.39 yr (1,602.14 d) |
Average orbital speed | 18.19 km/s |
Mean anomaly | 169.01173° |
Mean motion | 0° 13m 28.917s / day |
| Inclination | 5.75625° |
Longitude of ascending node | 156.91554° |
| 180.90559° | |
| Jupiter MOID | 2.23013 AU (333.623 Gm) |
| TJupiter | 3.347 |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 68.39±3.5 km 87.72 km |
Synodic rotation period | 3.7474 h (0.15614 d) |
| 0.1604±0.018 0.0881±0.0187 | |
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Based upon the spectra of this object, it is classified as a M-type asteroid, indicating it may be metallic in composition. It may be the remnant of the core of a larger, differentiated asteroid. Near infrared absorption features indicate the presence of variable amounts of low-iron, low-calcium orthopyroxenes on the surface. Trace amounts of water is detected with a mass fraction of about 0.13–0.15 wt%. It has an estimated size of around 88 km. With a rotation period of 3.74 hours, it is the fastest rotating asteroid larger than 50 km in diameter.