18 Melpomene
Three-dimensional model of 18 Melpomene created using light-curve inversions.
|
|
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | John Russell Hind |
| Discovery date | June 24, 1852 |
| Designations | |
| Pronunciation | /mɛlˈpɒmᵻniː/ mel-POM-i-nee |
|
Named after
|
Melpomenē |
| Main belt | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch October 22, 2004 (JD 2453300.5) | |
| Aphelion | 418.414 Gm (2.797 AU) |
| Perihelion | 268.472 Gm (1.795 AU) |
| 343.443 Gm (2.296 AU) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.218 |
| 1270.552 d (3.48 a) | |
|
Average orbital speed
|
19.42 km/s |
| 205.245° | |
| Inclination | 10.126° |
| 150.547° | |
| 227.975° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions |
170 × 155 × 129 km (150×125 km) (150×170 km) 140.6 ± 2.8 km (IRAS) |
| Mass | 3.0×1018 kg |
|
Mean density
|
1.69±0.66 g/cm3 |
| ~0.0393 m/s2 | |
| ~0.0743 km/s | |
| 0.482 21 d (11.57 h) | |
| Albedo | 0.223 (geometric) |
| Temperature | ~177 K |
|
Spectral type
|
S |
| 7.5 to 12.0 | |
| 6.51 | |
| 0.23" to 0.059" | |
18 Melpomene is a large, bright main-belt asteroid that was discovered by J. R. Hind on June 24, 1852, and named after Melpomenē, the Muse of tragedy in Greek mythology. It is classified as an S-type asteroid and is composed of silicates and metals.
Melpomene occulted the star SAO 114159 on December 11, 1978. A possible Melpomenean satellite with a diameter at least 37 km was detected. The satellite candidate received a provisional designation S/1978 (18) 1. In 1988 a search for satellites or dust orbiting this asteroid was performed using the UH88 telescope at the Mauna Kea Observatories, but the effort came up empty. Melpomene was observed with the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993. It was able to resolve the asteroid's slightly elongated shape, but no satellites were detected.
Melpomene has been studied by radar.
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Wikipedia