679 Pax
_Pax.png) An image of 679 Pax. | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | August Kopff |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg |
| Discovery date | 28 January 1909 |
| Designations | |
| Pronunciation | /ˈpæks/[1] |
| 1909 FY | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 106.90 yr (39044 d) |
| Aphelion | 3.3910 AU (507.29 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 1.7808 AU (266.40 Gm) |
| 2.5859 AU (386.85 Gm) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.31135 |
| 4.16 yr (1518.8 d) | |
| 33.4022° | |
| 0° 14m 13.272s / day | |
| Inclination | 24.387° |
| 112.263° | |
| 266.736° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 25.735±1.2 km[2] 32.44 ± 1.82 km[3] | |
| Mass | (7.14 ± 1.99) × 1017 kg[3] |
Mean density | 4.99 ± 1.62 g/cm3[3] |
| 8.452 h (0.3522 d) | |
| 0.1660±0.017 | |
| 9.01 | |
679 Pax is a minor planet orbiting the Sun that was discovered by German astronomer August Kopff on January 28, 1909. It is named after Pax, a Roman goddess. It is orbiting the Sun with a period of 4.16 years, a semimajor axis of 2.59 AU, and a moderately high eccentricity of 0.31. The last causes it to vary in distance from the Sun over the course of its orbit, ranging from 1.78 to 3.39 AU. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 24.4° relative to the plane of the ecliptic.[2]
Measurements using the adaptive optics at the W. M. Keck Observatory give a mean diameter of 62 km. This is 16% larger than the diameter estimated using the IRAS observatory. The asteroid is elongated with a size ratio of 1.66 ± 0.23 between the major and minor axes. Photometric measurements reported in 1982 gave a rotation period of 8.452 hours.[4] The asteroid's pole of rotation lies 32° away from the plane of the ecliptic.[5]
Polarimetric study of this asteroid reveals anomalous properties that suggests the regolith consists of a mixture of low and high albedo material. This may have been caused by fragmentation of an asteroid substrate with the spectral properties of CO3/CV3 carbonaceous chondrites.[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "Pax". Oxford English Dictionary (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- 1 2 3 Yeomans, Donald K., "679 Pax", JPL Small-Body Database Browser, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, retrieved 7 May 2016.
- 1 2 3 Carry, B. (December 2012), "Density of asteroids", Planetary and Space Science, vol. 73, pp. 98–118, arXiv:1203.4336, Bibcode:2012P&SS...73...98C, doi:10.1016/j.pss.2012.03.009. See Table 1.
- ↑ Marchis, F.; et al. (November 2006), "Shape, size and multiplicity of main-belt asteroids. I. Keck Adaptive Optics survey", Icarus, vol. 185, no. 1, pp. 39–63, Bibcode:2006Icar..185...39M, doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2006.06.001, PMC 2600456, PMID 19081813, retrieved 27 March 2013.
- ↑ Marciniak, A.; et al. (May 2011), "Photometry and models of selected main belt asteroids. VIII. Low-pole asteroids", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 529: 14, Bibcode:2011A&A...529A.107M, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201015365, A107
- ↑ Gil-Hutton, R.; et al. (April 2008), "New cases of unusual polarimetric behavior in asteroids", Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 482, no. 1, pp. 309–314, Bibcode:2008A&A...482..309G, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20078965.
External links
[edit]- 679 Pax at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
- 679 Pax at the JPL Small-Body Database
