1647 Menelaus
| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | S. B. Nicholson |
| Discovery site | Mount Wilson Obs. |
| Discovery date | 23 June 1957 |
| Designations | |
| MPC designation | 1647 Menelaus |
|
Named after
|
Menelaus (Greek mythology)[2] |
| 1957 MK | |
| Jupiter trojan [1][3] | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 64.33 yr (23497 days) |
| Aphelion | 5.3330 AU (797.81 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 5.0981 AU (762.66 Gm) |
| 5.2156 AU (780.24 Gm) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.022519 |
| 11.91 yr (4350.61 d) | |
| 34.686° | |
| Inclination | 5.6492° |
| 240.32° | |
| 299.10° | |
| Earth MOID | 4.10422 AU (613.983 Gm) |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.159837 AU (23.9113 Gm) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 44.22 km (calculated)[3] |
| 17.75 h (0.740 d)[lower-alpha 1][1] 17.7390±0.0198 h[4] |
|
| 0.057 (assumed)[3] | |
| C [3] | |
| 10.5 | |
1647 Menelaus, provisional designation 1957 MK, is a carbonaceous asteroid, about 44 kilometers in diameter. It is a Jupiter Trojan that shares the orbit of the gas giant Jupiter. It was discovered by American astronomer Seth Nicholson at Mount Wilson Observatory northeast of Los Angeles, California, on 23 June 1957.[5]
The C-type Trojan asteroid orbits in the so-called Greek Camp – the L4 Lagrangian point of the Sun–Jupiter system. It therefore orbits the Sun at a distance of 5.1–5.3 AU once every 11 years and 11 months (4,352 days). Its orbit also shows a low eccentricity of 0.02 that is tilted by 6 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic. It has a rotation period of 17.7 hours[lower-alpha 1][4] and an assumed albedo of 0.057.[3]
The Trojan asteroid was named after the Greek mythological figure, Menelaus, husband of Helen of Troy, brother of Agamemnon, and king and leader of the Spartan contingent of the Greek army during the Trojan War. The name was selected by the discoverer to enable another of the famous Greek heroes to join the majority of his compatriots in the camp to the east of Jupiter. The Dictionary of Minor Planet Names also mentions that the lunar crater Menelaus was named after the Greek hero.[2] However, based on the official International Astronomical Union–WGPSN nomenclature, it is named after Greek geometer and astronomer Menelaus of Alexandria (70–140).[6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Stephens (2014) web: rotation period of 17.75±0.02 with an amplitude of 0.17. Summary figures at Asteroid Lightcurve Database for (1647) Menelaus
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info)
- Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
- Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
- Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000) – Minor Planet Center
- 1647 Menelaus at the JPL Small-Body Database
