2101 Adonis

2101 Adonis
Discovery [1]
Discovered by E. Delporte
Discovery site Uccle – Belgium
Discovery date 12 February 1936
Designations
MPC designation 2101 Adonis
Named after
 Adonis
(Greek mythology)[2]
1936 CA
Apollo · NEO · PHA [1]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 77.08 yr (28,154 days)   
Aphelion 3.3070 AU
Perihelion 0.4428 AU
1.8749 AU
Eccentricity 0.7638
2.57 yr (938 days)
81.592°
Inclination 1.3303°
349.84°
43.241°
Earth MOID 0.0117 AU
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 0.6 km[1]
0.5–1.2 km (assumed)[3]
18.8[1]

    2101 Adonis, provisional designation 1936 CA, is an extremely eccentric asteroid, classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid. It belongs to the group of Apollo asteroids and measures approximately 1 kilometer in diameter. The asteroid was discovered on 12 February 1936, by Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte at the Royal Observatory of Belgium in Uccle.[4] It may also be an extinct comet and a source of meteor showers.[5]

    It was one of the first near-Earth asteroids ever to be discovered. Adonis was also the second known Apollo asteroid after 1862 Apollo, the group's namesake discovered four years earlier in 1932. After the initial discovery of Adonis, which happened during a close approach with Earth in 1936, the asteroid was observed for two months, before it became a lost asteroid, as not enough observations could be made to calculate a sufficiently accurate orbit. It took 41 years until it was finally rediscovered by the American astronomer Charles Kowal in 1977.

    The asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.4–3.3 AU once every 2 years and 7 months (938 days). Its orbit shows an extraordinary eccentricity of 0.76 and an inclination of 1 degree from the plane of the ecliptic.[1] It is a potentially hazardous asteroid because its minimum orbit intersection distance (MOID) is less than 0.05 AU and its diameter is greater than 150 meters. The Earth-MOID is 0.0117 AU (1,750,000 km).[6] The asteroid's orbit is well-determined for the next several hundred years. It also makes close approaches to Venus and Mars and comes within 30 Gm of the Earth six times in the 21st century, the nearest being 0.03569 AU (5,339,000 km) on 7 February 2036.[6][7]

    The minor planet is named from Greek mythology after the handsome, ever-youthful vegetation god Adonis, with whom the goddess Venus fell in love. He was the lover of Aphrodite and was ordered by Zeus to spend part of each year with Aphrodite and part with Persephone. He was killed by a boar sent by Artemis. The minor planets 105 Artemis, 399 Persephone, 1388 Aphrodite and 5731 Zeus were named for these Greek gods.[2]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2101 Adonis (1936 CA)" (2013-03-13 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved February 2016.
    2. 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (2101) Adonis. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 170. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved February 2016.
    3. ↑ "(2101) Adonis – PHYSICAL INFORMATION". NEODyS—Near Earth Objects - Dynamic Site. Retrieved August 2015.
    4. ↑ "2101 Adonis (1936 CA)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved February 2016.
    5. ↑ Babadzhanov, P. B. (2003). "Meteor showers associated with the near-Earth asteroid (2101) Adonis". Astronomy and Astrophysics 397 (1): 319–323. Bibcode:2003A&A...397..319B. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20021506.
    6. 1 2 "JPL Close-Approach Data: 2101 Adonis (1936 CA)" (2008-03-10 last obs). Retrieved 2009-05-05.
    7. ↑ "NEODys (2101) Adonis". Department of Mathematics, University of Pisa, ITALY. Retrieved 2009-05-05.

    External links

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