201 Penelope
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A three-dimensional model of 201 Penelope based on its light curve.
|
|
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Johann Palisa |
| Discovery date | 7 August 1879 |
| Designations | |
| MPC designation | (201) Penelope |
|
Named after
|
Penelópē |
| A869 GA | |
| Main belt | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 136.51 yr (49860 d) |
| Aphelion | 3.16233 AU (473.078 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 2.19242 AU (327.981 Gm) |
| 2.67737 AU (400.529 Gm) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.18113 |
| 4.38 yr (1600.2 d) | |
|
Average orbital speed
|
18.19 km/s |
| 79.3202° | |
| 0° 13m 29.921s / day | |
| Inclination | 5.75820° |
| 157.026° | |
| 180.859° | |
| Earth MOID | 1.18247 AU (176.895 Gm) |
| Jupiter MOID | 2.21856 AU (331.892 Gm) |
| Jupiter Tisserand parameter | 3.347 |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions |
68.39±3.5 km 87.72 km |
| 3.7474 h (0.15614 d) | |
|
0.1604±0.018 0.0881 ± 0.0187 |
|
| M (Tholen) | |
| 8.43, 8.54 | |
201 Penelope is a large main belt asteroid that was discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa on August 7, 1879, in Pola. The asteroid is named after Penelope, the wife of Odysseus in Homer's The Odyssey.
Based upon the spectra of this object, it is classified as a M-type asteroid, indicating it may be metallic in composition. It may be the remnant of the core of a larger, differentiated asteroid. Near infrared absorption features indicate the presence of variable amounts of low-iron, low-calcium orthopyroxenes on the surface. Trace amounts of water is detected with a mass fraction of about 0.13–0.15 wt%. It has an estimated size of around 88 km. With a rotation period of 3.74 hours, it is the fastest rotating asteroid larger than 50 km in diameter.
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