124 Alkeste

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124 Alkeste
Discovery
Discovered by Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters
Discovery date August 23, 1872
Designations
Named after Alcestis
Alternative names  
Minor planet category Main belt
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch December 31, 2006 (JD 2454100.5)
Aphelion 423.558 Gm (2.831 AU)
Perihelion 363.297 Gm (2.428 AU)
Semi-major axis 393.427 Gm (2.630 AU)
Eccentricity 0.077
Orbital period 1557.784 d (4.26 a)
Average orbital speed 18.34 km/s
Mean anomaly 253.158°
Inclination 2.951°
Longitude of ascending node 188.184°
Argument of perihelion 63.214°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 76.4 km
Mass 4.7×1017 kg
Equatorial surface gravity 0.0214 m/s²
Escape velocity 0.0404 km/s
Temperature ~172 K
Spectral type S
Absolute magnitude (H) 8.09[2]

    124 Alkeste is a large main-belt asteroid. It is an S-type in composition. C.H.F. Peters discovered the asteroid on August 23, 1872 from the observatory at Hamilton College, New York State. The name was chosen by Adelinde Weiss, wife of the astronomer Edmund Weiss, and refers to Alcestis, a woman in Greek mythology.[3]

    Only one stellar occultation by Alkeste has been observed, when the asteroid passed in front of the third magnitude star Beta Virginis on June 24, 2003. The event was observed from Australia and New Zealand.[citation needed]

    References

    1. ↑ Yeomans, Donald K., "124 Alkeste", JPL Small-Body Database Browser (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory), retrieved 2013-03-25. 
    2. ↑ Warner, Brian D. (December 2007), "Initial Results of a Dedicated H-G Project", Bulletin of the Minor Planets Section of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers 34: 113–119, Bibcode:2007MPBu...34..113W. 
    3. ↑ Lutz D. Schmadel, Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, p.27.
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