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Discovery
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|---|---|
| Discovered by | Hermann Mayer Salomon Goldschmidt |
| Discovery date | September 9, 1857 |
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Designations
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| Named after | Melete |
| Alternate name(s) | |
| Minor planet category |
Main belt |
| Epoch December 31, 2006 (JD 2454100.5) | |
| Aphelion | 480.683 Gm (3.213 AU) |
| Perihelion | 295.717 Gm (1.977 AU) |
| Semi-major axis | 388.200 Gm (2.595 AU) |
| Eccentricity | 0.238 |
| Orbital period | 1526.839 d (4.18 a) |
| Average orbital speed | 18.22 km/s |
| Mean anomaly | 267.781° |
| Inclination | 8.072° |
| Longitude of ascending node | 193.478° |
| Argument of perihelion | 103.648° |
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Physical characteristics
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| Dimensions | 113.2 km |
| Mass | 1.5×1018 kg |
| Mean density | ? g/cm³ |
| Equatorial surface gravity | 0.0316 m/s² |
| Escape velocity | 0.0598 km/s |
| Rotation period | ? d |
| Albedo | 0.065 [1] |
| Temperature | ~173 K |
| Spectral type | P |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 8.31 |
56 Melete ( /ˈmɛlɨtiː/ mel-i-tee) is a large and dark main belt asteroid. It is a rather unusual P-type asteroid, probably composed of organic rich silicates, carbon and anhydrous silicates, with possible internal water ice.
Melete was discovered by Hermann Goldschmidt from his balcony in Paris, on September 9, 1857. It orbit was computed by E. Schubert, who named it after Melete, the Muse of meditation in Greek mythology.[2]
To date, two stellar occultations by Melete have been observed successfully (in 1997 and again in 2002).
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