2867 Šteins
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Discovery[2] and designation
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|---|---|
| Discovered by | Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh |
| Discovery date | November 4, 1969 |
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Designations
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| Alternative names[1] | |
| Minor planet category |
Main belt |
| Epoch February 04, 2008 (JD 2454500.5) | |
| Aphelion | 405.132 Gm (2.708 AU) |
| Perihelion | 301.857 Gm (2.018 AU) |
| Semi-major axis | 353.495 Gm (2.363 AU) |
| Eccentricity | 0.146 |
| Orbital period | 1326.736 d (3.63 a) |
| Average orbital speed | 19.27 km/s |
| Mean anomaly | 259.193° |
| Inclination | 9.946° |
| Longitude of ascending node | 55.530° |
| Dimensions | ? km |
| Mass | ?×10? kg |
| Mean density | ? g/cm³ |
| Equatorial surface gravity | ? m/s² |
| Equatorial escape velocity | ? km/s |
| Sidereal rotation period |
? d |
| Axial tilt | ?° |
| Pole ecliptic latitude | ? |
| Pole ecliptic longitude | ? |
| Geometric albedo | 0.10 |
| Temperature | ~181 K |
| Spectral type | E |
| Absolute magnitude | 12.9 |
2867 Šteins is a small main-belt asteroid that was discovered in 1969 by N. S. Chernykh. It is named after Kārlis Šteins, a Latvian and Soviet astronomer.
A recent study by astronomers at the European Southern Observatory showed that Šteins is an E-type asteroid with a diameter of approximately 4.6 km [2]. A lightcurve analysis by the Rosetta space probe has shown that Šteins has a rotation period of about six hours, is irregular in shape, and does not have any moons.[3] On September 5, 2008, the Rosetta space probe will fly past Šteins at a distance of 800 kilometres and a relatively slow speed of 8.6 kilometres per second. This will be the first of two asteroid flybys performed by the probe, the second being the much larger 21 Lutetia in 2010. [4]
[edit] References
- ^ [1]
- ^ S. Fornasier, I. Belskaya, M. Fulchignoni, M. A. Barucci, C. Barbieri. First albedo determination of 2867 Steins, target of the Rosetta mission.
- ^ Michael Küppers, Uwe Keller, Rita Schulz, Gerhard Schwehm. OSIRIS camera on Rosetta obtains ‘light curve’ of asteroid Steins.
- ^ M. A. Barucci, M. Fulchignoni and A. Rossi (2007). "Rosetta Asteroid Targets: 2867 Steins and 21 Lutetia". Space Science Reviews 128 (1-4): 67-78. doi:.
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