588 Achilles

588 Achilles
Discovery
Discovered by Max Wolf
Discovery date February 22, 1906
Designations
Named after
 Achilles
1906 TG
Jupiter trojan
Adjectives Achillean
Orbital characteristics
Epoch October 22, 2004 (JD 2453300.5)
Aphelion 5.956 AU (890.944 Gm)
Perihelion 4.428 AU (662.395 Gm)
5.192 AU (776.669 Gm)
Eccentricity 0.147
11.83 a (4320.803 d)
13.00 km/s
157.779°
Inclination 10.324°
316.583°
132.770°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 135.5 km[1]
7.3 hr[1]
Albedo 0.0328[1]
Spectral type
 D[1]
8.67[1]

    588 Achilles is the first Jupiter trojan discovered. It was discovered on February 22, 1906, by the German astronomer Max Wolf. It is named after Achilles, the fictional hero from the Iliad. It orbits in the L4 Lagrangian point of the Sun–Jupiter system. After a few such asteroids were discovered, the rule was established that the L4 point was the "Greek camp", whereas the L5 point was the "Trojan camp", though not before each camp had acquired a "spy" (624 Hektor in the Greek camp and 617 Patroclus in the Trojan camp).

    Based on IRAS data, Achilles is 135 km in diameter and is the 6th-largest Jupiter trojan.[2]

    JPL Small-Body Database list of the largest Jupiter Trojans based on IRAS data:
    Trojan Diameter (km)
    624 Hektor 225
    911 Agamemnon 167
    1437 Diomedes 164
    1172 Äneas 143
    617 Patroclus 141
    588 Achilles 135
    1173 Anchises 126
    1143 Odysseus 126

    Photometric observations of this asteroid during 1994 were used to build a light curve showing a rotation period of 7.32 ± 0.02 hours with a brightness variation of 0.31 ± 0.01 magnitude. This result is in good agreement with prior studies.[3]

    References

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 588 Achilles (1906 TG)" (2012-02-23 last obs). Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
    2. ↑ "JPL Small-Body Database Search Engine: orbital class (TJN) and diameter > 50 (km)". JPL's Solar System Dynamics Group. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
    3. ↑ Mottola, Stefano; Di Martino, Mario; Erikson, Anders; Gonano-Beurer, Maria; Carbognani, Albino; Carsenty, Uri; Hahn, Gerhard; Schober, Hans-Josef; Lahulla, Felix; Delbò, Marco; Lagerkvist, Claes-Ingvar (May 2011). "Rotational Properties of Jupiter Trojans. I. Light Curves of 80 Objects". The Astronomical Journal 141 (5): 170. Bibcode:2011AJ....141..170M. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/141/5/170.

    External links