52 Europa
Europa (minor planet designation: 52 Europa) is the 6th-largest asteroid in the asteroid belt, having a diameter of over 300 km, though it is not correspondingly massive. It is not round but is shaped like an ellipsoid of approximately 380×330×250 km. It was discovered on 4 February 1858, by Hermann Goldschmidt from his balcony in Paris. It is named after Europa, one of Zeus's conquests in Greek mythology, a name it shares with Jupiter's moon Europa.
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | H. Goldschmidt |
| Discovery date | 4 February 1858 |
| Designations | |
MPC designation | (52) Europa |
| Pronunciation | /jʊˈroʊpə/ |
Named after | Europa |
Alternative designations | 1948 LA |
Minor planet category | Main belt |
| Adjectives | Europan, Europian |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch July 01, 2021 (JD 2459396.5, heliocentric) | |
| Aphelion | 3.444 AU (510 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 2.75 AU (420 Gm) |
Semi-major axis | 3.095 AU (460 Gm) |
| Eccentricity | 0.111 |
Orbital period (sidereal) | 5.45 yr (1989 d) |
Mean anomaly | 21° |
| Inclination | 7.48° |
Longitude of ascending node | 129° |
| 343° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | c/a = 0.67±0.04 (379±16)×(330±8)×(249±10) km |
Mean diameter | 319±4 km 315±7 km |
| Mass | (24±4)×1018 kg (22.6±1.6)×1018 kg |
Mean density | 1.41±0.23 g/cm3 1.5±0.4 g/cm3 |
Synodic rotation period | 5.63 h |
| 0.057±0.007 geometric (0.679±0.017 BV, 0.338±0.028 UB) | |
| Temperature | ~173 K max: 258K (−15 °C) |
| C/CF | |
| 6.48 | |
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.