34 Circe
Circe, minor planet designation 34 Circe, is a large, very dark main-belt asteroid. It was discovered by French astronomer J. Chacornac on April 6, 1855, and named after Circe, the bewitching queen of Aeaea island in Greek mythology.
A three-dimensional model of 34 Circe based on its light curve | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | J. Chacornac |
| Discovery date | April 6, 1855 |
| Designations | |
Designation | (34) Circe |
| Pronunciation | /ˈsɜːrsiː/ |
Named after | Circe |
Alternative names | 1965 JL |
Minor planet category | Main belt |
| Adjectives | Circean /sərˈsiːən/ |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch November 4, 2013 (JD 2456600.5) | |
| Aphelion | 2.967739 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.406230 AU |
Semi-major axis | 2.686984 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.1045 |
Orbital period (sidereal) | 4.40 a (1607.332 d) |
Average orbital speed | 18.12 km/s |
Mean anomaly | 39.80474° |
| Inclination | 5.498° |
Longitude of ascending node | 184.44157° |
| 330.2330° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 113.02 ± 4.90 km |
| Mass | (3.66 ± 0.03) × 1018 kg |
Mean density | 4.83 ± 0.63 g/cm3 |
Surface gravity | ~0.0317 m/s² |
| ~0.0600 km/s | |
Synodic rotation period | 0.5063 d (12.15 h) |
| Albedo | 0.0541 |
| Temperature | ~172 K |
Spectral type | C |
| 8.51 | |
The spectrum of this object matches a C-type asteroid, suggesting a carbonaceous composition. It has a cross-section size of 113 km and is orbiting the Sun with a period of 4.40 years. Photometric observations of this asteroid made during 2007 at the Organ Mesa Observatory in Las Cruces, New Mexico gave an asymmetrical bimodal light curve with a period of 12.176 ± 0.002 hours and a brightness variation of 0.17 ± 0.02 in magnitude. The spectra of the asteroid displays evidence of aqueous alteration.
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