Discovery | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Johann Palisa |
Discovery date | 6 February 1880 |
Designations | |
MPC designation | (212) Medea |
Named after
|
Medea |
1930 FW | |
Main belt | |
Orbital characteristics | |
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 136.05 yr (49694 d) |
Aphelion | 3.4422 AU (514.95 Gm) |
Perihelion | 2.78929 AU (417.272 Gm) |
3.11575 AU (466.110 Gm) | |
Eccentricity | 0.10478 |
5.50 yr (2008.8 d) | |
Average orbital speed
|
16.88 km/s |
28.1280° | |
0° 10m 45.156s / day | |
Inclination | 4.2636° |
313.478° | |
100.91° | |
Earth MOID | 1.80323 AU (269.759 Gm) |
Jupiter MOID | 1.89278 AU (283.156 Gm) |
Jupiter Tisserand parameter | 3.205 |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions |
±2.5 km 136.12 144.13 ± 7.23 km |
Mass | (1.32 ± 0.10) × 1019 kg |
Mean density
|
8.41 ± 1.43 g/cm3 |
10.283 h (0.4285 d) 10.12 h |
|
±0.002 0.0465 | |
DCX: | |
8.28 | |
212 Medea is a very large main-belt asteroid that was discovered by Johann Palisa on February 6, 1880, in Pola, and was named after Medea, a figure in Greek mythology.
Photometric observations of this asteroid in 1987 gave an incomplete light curve with a period of 10.12 ± 0.06 hours and a brightness variation of 0.13 in magnitude. This object has a spectrum that matches a DCX: classification. Lightcurve data has also been recorded by observers at the Antelope Hill Observatory, which has been designated as an official observatory by the Minor Planet Center. They found a period of 10.283 hours with a brightness variation of 0.08 magnitude.