Minorplanet: | yes |
Background: |
|
240 Vanadis | |
Discovered: | 27 August 1884 |
Mpc Name: | (240) Vanadis |
Alt Names: | A884 QB |
Epoch: | 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5) |
Semimajor: | 2.6656AU |
Perihelion: | 2.1178AU |
Aphelion: | 3.2134abbr=onNaNabbr=on |
Eccentricity: | 0.20551 |
Inclination: | 2.1043° |
Asc Node: | 115.191° |
Arg Peri: | 300.174° |
Avg Speed: | 18.25 km/s |
Dimensions: | |
Rotation: | 10.64abbr=onNaNabbr=on |
Abs Magnitude: | 9.00 |
Mean Motion: | / day |
Orbit Ref: | [1] |
Observation Arc: | 131.61 yr (48072 d) |
Uncertainty: | 0 |
240 Vanadis is a fairly large main-belt asteroid with a diameter of around 100 km. It was discovered by A. Borrelly on August 27, 1884, in Marseilles and was named after Freyja (Vanadis), the Norse fertility goddess. The asteroid is orbiting the Sun at a distance of with a period of 1589.62NaN2 and an orbital eccentricity of 0.206. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 2.10° to the plane of the ecliptic.[1]
Photometric observations of the asteroid made during 2022 were used to produce a light curve that showed a rotation period of with a brightness variation of in magnitude. This is consistent with earlier estimates. It is very dark and is classified as a C-type asteroid, probably composed of primitive carbonaceous material.