78 Diana

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78 Diana
Discovery
Discovered by: Karl Theodor Robert Luther
Discovery date: March 15, 1865
Alternative names:  
Minor planet category: Main belt
Orbital characteristics
Epoch December 31, 2006 (JD 2454100.5)
Aphelion distance: 473.182 Gm (3.163 AU)
Perihelion distance: 310.686 Gm (2.077 AU)
Semi-major axis: 391.934 Gm (2.620 AU)
Eccentricity: 0.207
Orbital period: 1548.922 d (4.24 a)
Avg. orbital speed: 18.20 km/s
Mean anomaly: 353.808°
Inclination: 8.688°
Longitude of ascending node: 333.582°
Argument of perihelion: 151.423°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions: 120.6 km
Mass: 1.8×1018 kg
Mean density: ? g/cm³
Equatorial surface gravity: 0.0337 m/s²
Escape velocity: 0.0638 km/s
Rotation period: ? d
Albedo: 0.071 [1]
Temperature: ~172 K
Spectral type: C
Absolute magnitude: 8.09

78 Diana (dye-an'-a) is a large and dark main belt asteroid. Its composition is carbonaceous and primitive. It was discovered by Robert Luther on March 15, 1863 and named after Diana, Roman goddess of the hunt. 78 Diana occulted a star on September 4, 1980. A diameter of 116 km was measured, closely matching the value given by the IRAS satellite.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.psi.edu/pds/resource/albedo.html
Minor planets
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