15094 Polymele
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | CSS |
| Discovery site | Mount Lemmon Obs. |
| Discovery date | 17 November 1999 |
| Designations | |
| MPC designation | (15094) Polymele |
|
Named after
|
Polymele (Greek mythology) |
| 1999 WB2 · 1997 WR57 | |
|
Jupiter trojan (Greek camp) |
|
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 16 February 2017 (JD 2457800.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 63.53 yr (23,203 days) |
| Aphelion | 5.6519 AU |
| Perihelion | 4.6769 AU |
| 5.1644 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0944 |
| 11.74 yr (4,287 days) | |
| 219.59° | |
| 0° 5m 2.4s / day | |
| Inclination | 12.992° |
| 50.329° | |
| 4.8855° | |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.2223 AU |
| Jupiter Tisserand parameter | 2.9400 |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 21.075±0.136 km |
|
4 h 6.1 h |
|
| 0.091±0.017 | |
| P | |
| 11.7 | |
15094 Polymele, provisional designation 1999 WB2, is a dark Jupiter trojan from the Greek camp, approximately 21 kilometers in diameter. It is a target of the Lucy mission with a close fly by planned to occur in September 2027.
It was discovered on 17 November 1999, by astronomers of the Catalina Sky Survey at Mount Lemmon Observatory, Arizona, United States, and later named after Polymele, a figure from Greek mythology.
Polymele is a Jovian asteroid orbiting in the leading Greek camp at Jupiter's L4 Lagrangian point, 60° ahead of the Gas Giant's orbit (see Trojans in astronomy). It orbits the Sun at a distance of 4.7–5.7 AU once every 11 years and 9 months (4,287 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.09 and an inclination of 13° with respect to the ecliptic.
A first precovery from the Digitized Sky Survey, taken at Palomar in 1951, extends the body's observation arc by 48 years prior to its official discovery observation at Mount Lemmon.
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite, and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Polymele measures 21.075 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.091.
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