43 Ariadne

43 Ariadne

A three-dimensional model of 43 Ariadne based on its light curve.
Discovery
Discovered by	N. R. Pogson
Discovery date	April 15, 1857
Designations
Named after	Ariadne
Alternative names	none
Minor planet category	Main belt (Flora family)
Orbital characteristics
Epoch November 26, 2005 (JD 2453700.5)
Aphelion	384.954 Gm (2.573 AU)
Perihelion	274.339 Gm (1.834 AU)
Semi-major axis	329.646 Gm (2.204 AU)
Eccentricity	0.168
Orbital period	1194.766 d (3.27 a)
Average orbital speed	19.92 km/s
Mean anomaly	101.582°
Inclination	3.464°
Longitude of ascending node	264.937°
Argument of perihelion	15.948°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	95×60×50 km[1][2][3]
Mass	(1.21 ± 0.22) × 10^18 kg[4]
Mean density	~2.7 g/cm³ (estimate)[5] 8.99 ± 2.57[4] g/cm^3
Surface gravity	~0.012 m/s² (estimate)
Escape velocity	~0.034 km/s (estimate)
Rotation period	0.2401 d[6]
Albedo	0.274 (geometric)[7]
Temperature	~178 K (−95 °C) max: 275 K (2 °C)
Spectral type	S-type asteroid
Apparent magnitude	8.8[8] to 13.42
Absolute magnitude (H)	7.93
Angular diameter	0.11″ to 0.025″

43 Ariadne /ˌæriˈædniː/ is a fairly large and bright main-belt asteroid. It is the second-largest member of the Flora asteroid family. It was discovered by N. R. Pogson on April 15, 1857, and named after the Greek heroine Ariadne.

Characteristics

Ariadne is very elongate (almost twice as long as its smallest dimension) and probably bi-lobed^[3] or at least very angular. It is a retrograde rotator, although its pole points almost parallel to the ecliptic towards ecliptic coordinates (β, λ) = (-15°, 253°) with a 10° uncertainty.^[2] This gives an axial tilt of about 105°.

Trivia

• For reasons unknown, "Asteroid 43 Ariadne" was included in a list of names of supporters of the NASA spacecraft Stardust that was stored on a microchip within the spacecraft.
• The maximum apparent size of Ariadne is equivalent to the maximum apparent size of Pluto.

References

1. http://www.psi.edu/pds/archive/simps.html
2. Kaasalainen, M.; Torppa, J.; Piironen, J. (2002). "Models of Twenty Asteroids from Photometric Data" (PDF). Icarus 159 (2): 369–395. Bibcode:2002Icar..159..369K. doi:10.1006/icar.2002.6907.
3. Tanga, P.; et al. (2003). "Asteroid observations with the Hubble Space Telescope" (PDF). Astronomy & Astrophysics 401 (2): 733–741. Bibcode:2003A&A...401..733T. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20030032.
4. 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.
5. Krasinsky, G. A.; et al. (2002). "Hidden Mass in the Asteroid Belt". Icarus 158 (1): 98–105. Bibcode:2002Icar..158...98K. doi:10.1006/icar.2002.6837.
6. PDS lightcurve data
7. Supplemental IRAS Minor Planet Survey
8. "AstDys (43) Ariadne Ephemerides". Department of Mathematics, University of Pisa, Italy. Retrieved 2010-06-26.

External links

• shape model deduced from lightcurve
• bi-lobed shape model from Hubble lightcurves
• Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Ephemeris
• 43 Ariadne at the JPL Small-Body Database

• Discovery · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters