201 Penelope
A three-dimensional model of 201 Penelope based on its light curve.
Discovery
Discovered byJohann Palisa
Discovery date7 August 1879
Designations
(201) Penelope
Pronunciation/pɪˈnɛləpiː/[1]
Named after
Penelópē
A879 PA; 1869 GA
Main belt
AdjectivesPenelopean /pɪˈnɛloʊˈpiːən/[1]
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 21 January 2022 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc142.58 yr (52,077 d)[3]
Aphelion3.160 AU (472.710 Gm)[3]
Perihelion2.199 AU (329.009 Gm)[4][3]
2.680 AU (400.859 Gm)[4][3]
Eccentricity0.17924[4][3]
4.39 yr (1,602.14 d)[3]
18.19 km/s
169.01173°[4]
0° 13m 28.917s / day[4]
Inclination5.75625°[4][3]
156.91554°[4]
180.90559°[4]
Jupiter MOID2.23013 AU (333.623 Gm)[3]
TJupiter3.347[3]
Physical characteristics
Dimensions68.39±3.5 km[2]
87.72 km[5]
3.7474 h (0.15614 d)[3]
0.1604±0.018[2]
0.0881±0.0187[5]

    Penelope (minor planet designation: 201 Penelope) is a large main belt asteroid that was discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa on August 7, 1879, in Pola. The asteroid is named after Penelope, the wife of Odysseus in Homer's The Odyssey. It is orbiting the Sun at a distance of 2.68 AU with an eccentricity (ovalness) of 0.18 and a period of 4.381 years. The orbital plane is tilted at an angle of 5.8° to the plane of the ecliptic.[2]

    Based upon the spectra of this object, it is classified as a M-type asteroid, indicating it may be metallic in composition.[5] It may be the remnant of the core of a larger, differentiated asteroid. Near infrared absorption features indicate the presence of variable amounts of low-iron, low-calcium orthopyroxenes on the surface. Trace amounts of water is detected with a mass fraction of about 0.13–0.15 wt%.[6] It has an estimated size of around 88 km.[5] With a rotation period of 3.74 hours, it is the fastest rotating asteroid larger than 50 km in diameter.[2]

    References

    1. 1 2 "Penelope". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
    2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "JPL Small-Body Database Search Engine: diameter > 50 (km) and rot_per > 0 (h)". JPL Solar System Dynamics. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
    4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "IAU Minor Planet Center". minorplanetcenter.net. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
    5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pravec, P.; et al. (May 2012), "Absolute Magnitudes of Asteroids and a Revision of Asteroid Albedo Estimates from WISE Thermal Observations", Asteroids, Comets, Meteors 2012, Proceedings of the conference held May 16–20, 2012 in Niigata, Japan, no. 1667, Bibcode:2012LPICo1667.6089P. See Table 4.
    6. ↑ Hardersen, Paul S.; Gaffey, Michael J.; Abell, Paul A. (January 1983), "Near-IR spectral evidence for the presence of iron-poor orthopyroxenes on the surfaces of six M-type asteroids", Icarus, vol. 175, no. 1, pp. 141–158, Bibcode:2005Icar..175..141H, doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2004.10.017.
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