60558 Echeclus
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Spacewatch |
| Discovery site | Kitt Peak Obs. |
| Discovery date | 3 March 2000 |
| Designations | |
| Pronunciation | /ᵻˈkɛkləs/ e-KEK-ləs or /ˈɛkᵻkləs/ EK-i-kləs |
| 2000 EC98, 2002 GJ27 | |
| Centaur | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 13264 days (36.31 yr) |
| Aphelion | 15.544 AU (2.3253 Tm) |
| Perihelion | 5.8168 AU (870.18 Gm) |
| 10.680 AU (1.5977 Tm) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.45537 |
| 34.90 yr (12749 d) | |
|
Average orbital speed
|
8.58 km/s |
| 7.51102° | |
| 0° 1m 41.657s / day | |
| Inclination | 4.3445° |
| 173.335° | |
| 162.889° | |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.838867 AU (125.4927 Gm) |
| Jupiter Tisserand parameter | 3.031 |
| Proper orbital elements | |
|
Proper mean motion
|
0.0282 deg / yr |
|
Proper orbital period
|
12765.95745 yr (4662765.957 d) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 84 km |
| 26.802 h (1.1168 d) | |
| 0.04 | |
| Temperature | ~85 K |
| ~18.8 | |
| 9.6 | |
60558 Echeclus (e-KEK-ləs or EK-i-kləs) is a centaur in the outer Solar System. It was discovered by Spacewatch in 2000 and initially classified as a minor planet with provisional designation 2000 EC98 (also written 2000 EC98). Research in 2001 by Rousselot and Petit at the Besançon observatory in France showed no evidence of cometary activity, but in late December 2005 a cometary coma was detected. In early 2006 the Committee on Small Bodies Nomenclature (CSBN) gave it the cometary designation 174P/Echeclus. It next comes to perihelion in April 2015, and is expected to reach about apparent magnitude 16.7 near opposition in September 2015.
Echeclus (Greek: Έχεκλος) is a centaur in Greek mythology.
60558 Echeclus is only the second comet (after Chiron) that was named as a minor planet, rather than after the name of its discoverer. Chiron is also a centaur; other centaurs are being observed for signs of a cometary coma.
Besides Chiron, three other objects are cross-listed as both comets and minor planets: 7968 Elst–Pizarro (133P/Elst–Pizarro), 4015 Wilson–Harrington (107P/Wilson–Harrington), and 118401 LINEAR (176P/LINEAR).
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