271 Penthesilea

271 Penthesilea
Discovery
Discovered by Viktor Knorre
Discovery date October 13, 1887
Designations
Named after
 Penthesilea
Main belt
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 30 January 2005 (JD 2453400.5)
Aphelion 494.138 Gm (3.303 AU)
Perihelion 406.502 Gm (2.717 AU)
450.32 Gm (3.01 AU)
Eccentricity 0.097
1907.586 d (5.22 a)
17.17 km/s
169.508°
Inclination 3.537°
335.668°
58.325°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 58.0 km
18.787[2] h
9.8

    271 Penthesilea is a large main belt asteroid that was discovered by Viktor Knorre on October 13, 1887 in Berlin. It was his last asteroid discovery. The asteroid was named after Penthesilea, the mythical Greek queen of the Amazons.[3]

    Photometric observations of this asteroid were made in early 2009 at the Organ Mesa Observatory in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The resulting light curve shows a synodic rotation period of 18.787 ± 0.001 hours with a brightness variation of 0.32 ± 0.04 in magnitude.[2]

    References

    1. ↑ Yeomans, Donald K., "271 Penthesilea", JPL Small-Body Database Browser (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory), retrieved 2013-03-25.
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pilcher, Frederick (July 2009), "Rotation Period Determinations for 120 Lachesis, 131 Vala 157 Dejanira, and 271 Penthesilea", Bulletin of the Minor Planets Section of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers 36 (3): 100–102, Bibcode:2009MPBu...36..100P.
    3. ↑ Schmadel, Lutz D.; International Astronomical Union (2003). Dictionary of minor planet names. Berlin; New York: Springer-Verlag. p. 39. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved 9 September 2011.