 A three-dimensional model of 93 Minerva based on its light curve on the top and an image of the asteroid on the bottom. | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | James Craig Watson |
| Discovery site | Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Discovery date | 24 August 1867 |
| Designations | |
| (93) Minerva | |
| Pronunciation | /mɪˈnɜːrvə/[1] |
Named after | Minerva |
| 1949 QN2, A902 DA | |
| Main belt | |
| Adjectives | Minervian, Minervean/mɪˈnɜːrviən/ |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 146.14 yr (53379 d) |
| Aphelion | 3.1429 AU (470.17 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 2.3711 AU (354.71 Gm) |
| 2.7570 AU (412.44 Gm) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.13998 |
| 4.58yr (1672.0d) | |
Averageorbital speed | ~17.86 km/s |
| 262.022° | |
| 0° 12m 55.116s / day | |
| Inclination | 8.56143° |
| 4.06265° | |
| 274.543° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 154.155±1.298 km(IRAS)[2] 156 km[3] | |
| Mass | 3.8×1018 kg (calculated)[a] |
Meandensity | 1.9 g/cm3[3] |
Equatorialsurface gravity | 4.139 cm/s2 (0.004221g)[4] |
Equatorialescape velocity | 81 m/s[4] |
| 5.982 h (0.2493 d)[2] | |
| 0.056±0.008[2] | |
| C[2] G?[3] | |
| 7.91[2] | |
93 Minerva is a largetriplemain-belt asteroid. It is aC-type asteroid, meaning that it has a dark surface and possibly a primitivecarbonaceous composition. It was discovered byJ. C. Watson on 24 August 1867, and named afterMinerva, theRoman equivalent ofAthena, goddess of wisdom. Anoccultation of astar by Minerva was observed inFrance,Spain and theUnited States on 22 November 1982. An occultation diameter of ~170 km was measured from the observations. Since then two more occultations have been observed, which give an estimatedmean diameter of ~150 km.[5][6]
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On 16 August 2009, at 13:36UT, theKeck Observatory'sadaptive optics system revealed that the asteroid 93 Minerva possesses 2 small moons.[7] They are 4 and 3 km in diameter and the projected separations from Minerva correspond to 630 km (8.8 x Rprimary) and 380 km (5.2 x Rprimary) respectively.[7] They have been namedAegis[8] (/ˈiːdʒɪs/)[9] andGorgoneion[8] (/ˌɡɔːrɡəˈnaɪən/).[10]
