580 Selene

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580 Selene

Name
Name	Selene
Designation	1905 SE
Discovery
Discoverer	M. F. Wolf
Discovery date	December 17, 1905
Discovery site	Heidelberg
Orbital elements
Epoch August 18, 2005 (JDCT 2453600.5)
Eccentricity (e)	0.080
Semimajor axis (a)	3.233 AU
Perihelion (q)	2.973 AU
Aphelion (Q)	3.494 AU
Orbital period (P)	5.814 a
Inclination (i)	3.651°
Longitude of the ascending node (Ω)	99.376°
Argument of Perihelion (ω)	328.158°
Mean anomaly (M)	93.455°

580 Selene is a minor planet orbiting the Sun. The name Selene is that of an ancient Greek goddess of the Moon.

This body orbits the Sun nearly mid-way between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The orbital eccentricity is slightly lower than that of Mars. Based on its light curve, Selene has an estimated rotation period of 0.3947±0.0004 days, or just under 9.5 hours.^[1] During each rotation, the apparent magnitude varies by 0.27. The approximate diameter of this asteroid is 46 km.^[2] (Some sources list a diameter of up to 56 km.) The albedo is about 7%, comparable to that of the Earth's Moon.

[edit] References

^ Antonini, Pierre (2005-05-16). Courbes de rotation d'astéroïdes et de comètes (French). Observatoire de Genève. Retrieved on 2006-06-12.
^ Occultation by (580) Selene (English). RASNZ Occultation Section (2005-01-18). Retrieved on 2006-06-12.

[edit] External links

Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets

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