 A three-dimensional model of 23 Thalia based on its light curve with an image of Thalia on the bottom. | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | J. R. Hind |
| Discovery date | 15 December 1852 |
| Designations | |
| (23) Thalia | |
| Pronunciation | /θəˈlaɪ.ə/[1][a] |
Named after | Thalia |
| 1938 CL;1974 QT2 | |
| Main belt | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 14 June 2006 (JD 2453900.5) | |
| Aphelion | 484.663 Gm (3.240 AU) |
| Perihelion | 301.483 Gm (2.015 AU) |
| 393.073 Gm (2.628AU) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.233 |
| 1555.679 d (4.26a) | |
| 328.687° | |
| Inclination | 10.145° |
| 67.228° | |
| 59.311° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 107.53 ± 2.2 km (IRAS)[2] 106.81 ± 3.23 km[3] |
| Mass | (1.96 ± 0.09) × 1018 kg[3] |
Meandensity | 3.07 ± 0.31 g/cm3[3] |
| 12.312 h[2] | |
| 0.2536 (geometric)[4] | |
| S[2] | |
| 9.11 to 13.19 | |
| 7.17[2] | |
23 Thalia (/θəˈlaɪ.ə/[a]) is a largemain-beltasteroid. It was discovered byJ. R. Hind on 15 December 1852, at the private observatory of W. Bishop, located in Hyde Park, London, England.[5] Bishop named it afterThalia, theMuse ofcomedy andpastoralpoetry inGreek mythology.[6]
It is categorized as anS-type asteroid consisting of mainly of iron- and magnesium-silicates. This the second most common type of asteroid in the main belt. Based on analysis of the light curve, the object has a sidereal rotation period of0.513202 ± 0.000002 days. Anellipsoidalmodel of thelight curve gives an a/b ratio of1.28 ± 0.05.[7]
With asemimajor axis of 2.628, the asteroid is orbiting between the 3:1 and 5:2Kirkwood gaps in themain belt.[8] Its orbital eccentricity is larger than the median value of 0.07 for the main belt, and the inclination is larger than the median of below 4°. But most of the main-belt asteroids have an eccentricity of no more than 0.4 and an inclination of up to 30°, so the orbit of 23 Thalia is not unusual for a main-belt asteroid.[9]
Thalia has been studied byradar.[10]
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