216 Kleopatra
 (Animation) |
|
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Johann Palisa |
| Discovery date | April 10, 1880 |
| Designations | |
|
Named after
|
Cleopatra VII |
| A905 OA, A910 RA | |
| Main belt | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 30 January 2005 (JD 2453400.5) | |
| Aphelion | 3.496 AU (523.049 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 2.089 AU (312.544 Gm) |
| 2.793 AU (417.796 Gm) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.252 |
| 4.67 a (1704.704 d) | |
|
Average orbital speed
|
17.82 km/s |
| 55.259° | |
| Inclination | 13.136° |
| 215.672° | |
| 179.099° | |
| Known satellites | 2 |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 217 × 94 × 81 km |
| Mass | 4.64 ± 0.02 × 10^18 kg |
|
Mean density
|
4.27 ± 0.86 g/cm3 |
| 5.385 h | |
| Albedo | 0.1068 ± 0.0370 |
|
Spectral type
|
M (Tholen) |
| 7.35 | |
216 Kleopatra (/ˌkliːəˈpætrə, -ˈpɑː-, -ˈpeɪ-/) is an asteroid orbiting in the asteroid belt. It was discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa on April 10, 1880, from Pula. It is named after Cleopatra, the famous queen of Ancient Egypt. The asteroid is notable for its peculiar shape that resembles that of a ham-bone. In 2008, it was discovered to be a ternary asteroid, having two small moons.
Kleopatra is a relatively large asteroid, measuring 217 × 94 × 81 km. Calculations from its radar albedo and the orbits of its moons show it to be a rubble pile, a loose amalgam of metal, rock, and 30–50% empty space by volume, likely due to a disruptive impact prior to the impact that created its moons.
Kleopatra has an unusual shape. Initial observations with the ESO 3.6 m Telescope at La Silla, run by the European Southern Observatory, were interpreted to show a double source with two distinct lobes of similar size. These results were disputed when radar observations at the Arecibo Observatory showed that the two lobes of the asteroid are connected, resembling the shape of a ham-bone. The radar observations provided a detailed shape model that appeared on the cover of Science Magazine.
...
Wikipedia