.png) A three-dimensional model of 149 Medusa based on its light curve. | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Henri Joseph Perrotin |
| Discovery date | 21 September 1875 |
| Designations | |
| (149) Medusa | |
| Pronunciation | /mɪˈdjuːsə/[2] |
Named after | Medusa |
| A875 SA; 1905 BA; 1906 HB | |
| Main belt | |
| Orbital characteristics[3][4] | |
| Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 124.55 yr (45493 d) |
| Aphelion | 2.32 AU (346.60 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 2.03 AU (304.06 Gm) |
| 2.17 AU (325.33 Gm) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.065386 |
| 3.21 yr (1,171.4 d) | |
Averageorbital speed | 20.18 km/s |
| 280.686° | |
| 0° 18m 26.374s / day | |
| Inclination | 0.93927° |
| 159.615° | |
| 250.609° | |
| Earth MOID | 1.04 AU (155.77 Gm) |
| Jupiter MOID | 2.88 AU (430.38 Gm) |
| TJupiter | 3.683 |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 19.75±0.9 km |
| Mass | 8.0×1015 kg |
Meandensity | 2.0 g/cm3 |
Equatorialsurface gravity | 0.0055 m/s2 |
Equatorialescape velocity | 0.0104 km/s |
| 26.023 h (1.0843 d)[4] 26.038 h[5] | |
| 0.2334±0.022 | |
| Temperature | ~189K |
| S | |
| 10.79 | |
149 Medusa is a bright-coloured, stonymain-beltasteroid that was discovered by French astronomerJ. Perrotin on September 21, 1875, and named after theGorgonMedusa, asnake-hairedmonster inGreek mythology. It is orbiting theSun at a distance of2.17 AU with aperiod of 3.21 years and aneccentricity of 0.065. Theorbital plane is tilted slightly at an angle of 0.94° to theplane of the ecliptic.[3]
When it was discovered, Medusa was by far the smallest asteroid found (although this was not known at that time). Since then, many thousands of smaller asteroids have been found. It was also the closest asteroid to theSun discovered up to that point, beating the long-held record of8 Flora. It remained the closest asteroid to the Sun until433 Eros and434 Hungaria were found in 1898, leading to the discovery of two new families of asteroids inward from the 4:1Kirkwood gap which forms the boundary of the main belt.[citation needed]
Photometric observations of this asteroid at the Organ Mesa Observatory inLas Cruces, New Mexico, during 2010 gave alight curve with a rather longrotation period of 26.038 ± 0.002 hours and a brightness variation of 0.56 ± 0.03 inmagnitude.[5]
_mathilde.jpg) | This article about an S-type asteroid native to theasteroid belt is astub. You can help Wikipedia byadding missing information. |
