60558 Echeclus
60558 Echeclus /ˈɛkɪkləs/ is a centaur, approximately 84 kilometers (52 miles) in diameter, located in the outer Solar System. It was discovered by Spacewatch in 2000 and initially classified as a minor planet with provisional designation 2000 EC98 (also written 2000 EC98). Research in 2001 by Rousselot and Petit at the Besançon observatory in France indicated that it was not a comet, but in December 2005 a cometary coma was detected. In early 2006 the Committee on Small Bodies Nomenclature (CSBN) gave it the cometary designation 174P/Echeclus. It last came to perihelion in April 2015, and was expected to reach about apparent magnitude 16.7 near opposition in September 2015.
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Spacewatch |
| Discovery site | Kitt Peak Obs. |
| Discovery date | 3 March 2000 |
| Designations | |
MPC designation | (60558) Echeclus |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɛkɪkləs/ |
Named after | Ἔχεκλος Ekheklos |
Alternative designations | 2000 EC98, 2002 GJ27 |
Minor planet category | Centaur |
| Symbol | (astrological) |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 13264 days (36.31 yr) |
| Aphelion | 15.544 AU (2.3253 Tm) |
| Perihelion | 5.8168 AU (870.18 Gm) |
Semi-major axis | 10.680 AU (1.5977 Tm) |
| Eccentricity | 0.45537 |
Orbital period (sidereal) | 34.90 yr (12749 d) |
Average orbital speed | 8.58 km/s |
Mean anomaly | 7.51102° |
Mean motion | 0° 1m 41.657s / day |
| Inclination | 4.3445° |
Longitude of ascending node | 173.335° |
| 162.889° | |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.838867 AU (125.4927 Gm) |
| TJupiter | 3.031 |
| Proper orbital elements | |
Proper mean motion | 0.0282 deg / yr |
Proper orbital period | 12765.95745 yr (4662765.957 d) |
| Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter | 84 km |
Synodic rotation period | 26.802 h (1.1168 d) |
| 0.04 | |
| Temperature | ~85 K |
| B–V = 0.841±0.072 V–R = 0.502±0.065 | |
| ~18.8 | |
| 9.6 | |
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