 Three-dimensional model of 26 Proserpina created based on light-curve inversions. | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | R. Luther |
| Discovery date | 5 May 1853 |
| Designations | |
| (26) Proserpina | |
| Pronunciation | /proʊˈsɜːrpɪnə/[1] |
Named after | Proserpina |
| 1935 KK;1954 WD1 | |
| Main belt | |
| Adjectives | Proserpinian/ˌprɒsərˈpɪniən/[2] |
| Symbol | .svg) (historical) |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch 21 November 2025 (JD 2461000.5) | |
| Aphelion | 2.890AU |
| Perihelion | 2.420 AU |
| 2.655 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.089 |
| 4.327yr (1580.27 d) | |
| 289.591° | |
| Inclination | 3.555° |
| 45.685° | |
| 196.057° | |
| Jupiter MOID | 2.106 AU |
| TJupiter | 3.380 |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 94.8 ± 1.7 km (IRAS)[3] 89.63 ± 3.55 km[4] |
| Mass | (7.48 ± 8.95) × 1017 kg[4] |
Meandensity | 1.98 ± 2.38 g/cm3[4] |
| 13.11 h[3][5] | |
| 0.1966[3][6] | |
| S[3] | |
| 7.5[3] | |
26 Proserpina is amain-beltasteroid discovered by German astronomerR. Luther on 5 May 1853. It is named after theRomangoddessProserpina, the daughter ofCeres and the Queen of theUnderworld. Another main-belt asteroid,399 Persephone, discovered in 1895, is named after her Greek counterpart. Its historical symbol was a star inside a pomegranate; it is encoded inUnicode asU+1CECD ASTRONOMICAL SYMBOL FOR ASTEROID PROSERPINA (.svg)
).[7][8]
This object is orbiting theSun with a period of 4.33 years. It has a cross-section size of around 90 km and a stony (S-type) composition. Photometric observations of this asteroid have produced discrepant estimates of the rotation period. A period of 12.13 hours was reported in 1979, followed by 10.6 hours in 1981 and 6.67 hours in 2001. Observations made in 2007 at theOakley Observatory inTerre Haute, Indiana produced alight curve with a period of 13.06 ± 0.03 hours and a brightness variation of 0.21 ± 0.01 inmagnitude.[9] This was refined by a 2008 study, giving a period of 13.110 ± 0.001 hours.[10]
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