81 Terpsichore is a large and very dark main-belt asteroid. It has most probably a very primitive carbonaceous composition. It was found by the prolific comet discoverer Ernst Tempel on 30 September 1864.[4] It is named after Terpsichore, the Muse of dance in Greek mythology.
 Orbital diagram | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Ernst Wilhelm Tempel |
| Discovery date | 30 September 1864 |
| Designations | |
| (81) Terpsichore | |
| Pronunciation | /tɜːrpˈsɪxərɛ/[1] |
Named after | Terpsichore |
| Main belt | |
| Adjectives | Terpsichorean /tɜːrpsɪxəˈriːən/[1] |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 31 December 2006 (JD 2454100.5) | |
| Aphelion | 516.955 Gm (3.456 AU) |
| Perihelion | 337.132 Gm (2.254 AU) |
| 427.044 Gm (2.855 AU) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.211 |
| 1761.647 d (4.82 a) | |
Average orbital speed | 17.43 km/s |
| 149.581° | |
| Inclination | 7.809° |
| 1.497° | |
| 50.234° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 121.77 ± 2.34 km[2] |
| Mass | (6.19 ± 5.31) × 1018 kg[2] |
Mean density | 6.54 ± 5.62 g/cm3[2] |
| 10.943 hr | |
| 0.051 [3] | |
| C | |
| 8.48 | |
Photometric observations of the minor planet in 2011 gave a rotation period of 10.945±0.001 h with an amplitude of 0.09±0.01 in magnitude. This result is consistent with previous determinations.[5] Two stellar occultation events involving this asteroid were observed from multiple sites in 2009. The resulting chords matched a smooth elliptical cross-section with dimensions of 134.0±4.0 km × 108.9±0.7 km.[6]
In popular culture
editA space station orbiting 81 Terpsichore is the main setting in the science fiction story The Dark Colony (Asteroid Police Book 1) by Richard Penn.
References
edit- ^ a b "Terpsichore". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- ^ a b c Carry, B. (December 2012), "Density of asteroids", Planetary and Space Science, vol. 73, pp. 98–118, arXiv:1203.4336, Bibcode:2012P&SS...73...98C, doi:10.1016/j.pss.2012.03.009. See Table 1.
- ^ Asteroid Data Sets Archived 2009-12-17 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Tempel, M. (November 1864), "Minor Planet 81 Terpsichore discovered", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 25: 31, Bibcode:1864MNRAS..25...31T.
- ^ Pilcher, Frederick (July 2011), "Rotation Period Determinations for 28 Bellona, 81 Terpsichore, 126 Velleda 150 Nuwa, 161 Athor, 419 Aurelia, and 632 Pyrrha", The Minor Planet Bulletin, 38 (3): 156−158, Bibcode:2011MPBu...38..156P.
- ^ Timerson, Brad; Durech, J.; Pilcher, F.; et al. (October 2010), "Occultations by 81 Terpsichore and 694 Ekard in 2009 at Different Rotational Phase Angles", The Minor Planet Bulletin, 37 (4): 140−142, Bibcode:2010MPBu...37..140T.
External links
edit- 81 Terpsichore at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
- 81 Terpsichore at the JPL Small-Body Database
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