140 Siwa

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140 Siwa
Discovery
Discovered by Johann Palisa
Discovery date October 13, 1874
Designations
Alternative names  
Minor planet
category
Main belt
Epoch December 31, 2006 (JD 2454100.5)
Aphelion 497.275 Gm (3.324 AU)
Perihelion 320.360 Gm (2.141 AU)
Semi-major axis 408.817 Gm (2.733 AU)
Eccentricity 0.216
Orbital period 1650.076 d (4.52 a)
Average orbital speed 17.80 km/s
Mean anomaly 156.165°
Inclination 3.187°
Longitude of ascending node 107.292°
Argument of perihelion 197.230°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 109.8 km
Mass 1.4×1018 kg
Mean density ? g/cm³
Equatorial surface gravity 0.0307 m/s²
Escape velocity 0.0580 km/s
Rotation period ? d
Albedo ?
Temperature ~168 K
Spectral type P
Absolute magnitude 8.34

140 Siwa (pronounced /ˈʃiːwə/?) is a large and dark main belt asteroid. It has a composition of a P (or possibly C-type) asteroid. It was discovered by J. Palisa on October 13, 1874 and named after Šiwa, the Slavic goddess of fertility. Siwa has a very flat lightcurve, indicating a spherical body.

The Rosetta comet probe was to visit Siwa on its way to comet 46P/Wirtanen in July, 2008. However, the mission was rerouted to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and the flyby had to be abandoned.