62 Erato

62 Erato

A three-dimensional model of 62 Erato based on its light curve.
Discovery
Discovered by	Oskar Lesser and Wilhelm Julius Foerster
Discovery date	September 14, 1860
Designations
Named after	Erato
Alternative names
Minor planet category	Main belt
Orbital characteristics
Epoch December 31, 2006 (JD 2454100.5)
Aphelion	550.315 Gm (3.679 AU)
Perihelion	383.868 Gm (2.566 AU)
Semi-major axis	467.092 Gm (3.122 AU)
Eccentricity	0.178
Orbital period	2015.178 d (5.52 a)
Average orbital speed	16.72 km/s
Mean anomaly	161.828°
Inclination	2.223°
Longitude of ascending node	125.738°
Argument of perihelion	273.285°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	95.4 km
Mass	9.1×10^17 kg
Mean density	? g/cm³
Surface gravity	0.0267 m/s²
Escape velocity	0.0504 km/s
Rotation period	5.675 ± 0.001 h[1]
Albedo	0.061 [2]
Temperature	~158 K
Spectral type	C?
Absolute magnitude (H)	8.76

62 Erato (/ˈɛrətoʊ/ ERR-ə-toh) is a large and dark, probably carbonaceous Themistian asteroid. It is a member of the Eos family.^[1]

Erato is the first asteroid to have been credited with co-discoverers, Oskar Lesser and Wilhelm Forster, who discovered it on September 14, 1860 from the Berlin Observatory. It was their first and only asteroid discovery. The name was chosen by Johann Franz Encke, director of the observatory, and refers to Erato, the Muse of lyric poetry in Greek mythology.^[3]

References

1. Alvarez-Candal, Alvaro; et al. (December 2004), "Rotational lightcurves of asteroids belonging to families", Icarus 172 (2): 388–401, Bibcode:2004Icar..172..388A, doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2004.06.008.
2. Asteroid Data Sets
3. Lutz D. Schmadel, Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, p.21.

External links

• 62 Erato at the JPL Small-Body Database

• Discovery · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters