381 Myrrha

381 Myrrha

Discovery
Discovered by	Auguste Charlois
Discovery date	January 10, 1894
Designations
Named after	Myrrha
Alternative names	1894 AS
Minor planet category	Main belt
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 30 January 2005 (JD 2453400.5)
Aphelion	527.45 Gm (3.526 AU)
Perihelion	435.617 Gm (2.912 AU)
Semi-major axis	481.534 Gm (3.219 AU)
Eccentricity	0.095
Orbital period	2109.318 d (5.77 a)
Average orbital speed	16.6 km/s
Mean anomaly	0.901°
Inclination	12.527°
Longitude of ascending node	125.354°
Argument of perihelion	137.241°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	147.2×126.6 km 123.41 ± 6.30[2] km
Mass	(9.18 ± 0.80) × 10^18 kg[2]
Mean density	9.32 ± 1.64[2] g/cm^3
Spectral type	C
Absolute magnitude (H)	8.25

381 Myrrha is a very large main-belt asteroid that was discovered by French astronomer Auguste Charlois on January 10, 1894, in Nice.^[3] It is classified as a C-type asteroid and is probably composed of carbonaceous material.

Photometric observations of this asteroid at the Oakley Observatory in Terre Haute, Indiana during 2006 gave a light curve with a period of 6.572 ± 0.002 hours and a brightness variation of 0.34 ± 0.05 in magnitude.^[4]

10µ radiometric data collected from Kitt Peak in 1975 gave a diameter estimate of 126 km.^[5] The occultation of Alhena (γ Geminorum) by Myrrha was observed in Japan and China on January 13, 1991, allowing the size and shape of Myrrha to be clarified.

References

1. Yeomans, Donald K., "381 Myrrha", JPL Small-Body Database Browser (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory), retrieved 2013-03-30.
2. Carry, B. (December 2012), "Density of asteroids", Planetary and Space Science 73, pp. 98–118, arXiv:1203.4336, Bibcode:2012P&SS...73...98C, doi:10.1016/j.pss.2012.03.009. See Table 1.
3. "Numbered Minor Planets 1–5000", Discovery Circumstances (IAU Minor Planet center), retrieved 2013-04-07.
4. Ditteon, Richard; Hawkins, Scot (September 2007), "Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at the Oakley Observatory - October-November 2006", The Minor Planet Bulletin 34 (3), pp. 59–64, Bibcode:2007MPBu...34...59D.
5. Morrison, D.; Chapman, C. R. (March 1976), "Radiometric diameters for an additional 22 asteroids", Astrophysical Journal 204, pp. 934–939, Bibcode:2008mgm..conf.2594S, doi:10.1142/9789812834300_0469.

External links

• The occultation of gamma Geminorum by the asteroid 381 Myrrha
• 381 Myrrha at the JPL Small-Body Database

• Discovery · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters