307 Nike

307 Nike
Discovery
Discovered by Auguste Charlois
Discovery date March 5, 1891
Designations
Named after
Nike
Main belt
Orbital characteristics
Epoch 30 January 2005 (JD 2453400.5)
Aphelion 495.498 Gm (3.312 AU)
Perihelion 375.137 Gm (2.508 AU)
435.317 Gm (2.91 AU)
Eccentricity 0.138
1813.055 d (4.96 a)
17.46 km/s
58.383°
Inclination 6.113°
101.263°
322.818°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 55.0 km
Mass unknown
Mean density
unknown
unknown
unknown
7.902 ± 0.005 h[1]
Albedo 0.0524
Temperature unknown
Spectral type
C
10.12

    307 Nike is a sizeable Main belt asteroid. It was discovered by Auguste Charlois on March 5, 1891 in Nice. Charlois named it after the Greek goddess of victory, as well as the Greek name for the city where it was discovered.[2] Measurement of the light curve of this asteroid in 2000 indicates a rotation period of 7.902 ± 0.005 hours.[1]

    On December 2, 1972, Pioneer 10 made one of its nearest passages of an asteroid when it passed 307 Nike at a distance of about 8.8 × 106 km (0.059 AU) during the spacecraft's pioneering trip through the asteroid belt.[3]

    References

    1. 1.0 1.1 Lazar, S.; Lazar, P., III; Cooney, W.; Wefel, K. (June 2001). "Lightcurves and Rotation Periods for Minor Planets (305) Gordonia (307) Nike, (337) Devosa, and (352) Gisela". The Minor Planet Bulletin 28: 32–34. Bibcode:2001MPBu...28...32L.
    2. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of minor planet names. Physics and astronomy online library 1 (5th ed.). Springer. p. 41. ISBN 3-540-00238-3.
    3. Fimmel, Richard O.; van Allen, James; Burgess, Eric (1980). Pioneer: first to Jupiter, Saturn, and beyond. Washington D.C., USA: NASA Scientific and Technical Information Office.