70 Panopaea Explained

Minorplanet:yes
Background:
  1. D6D6D6
70 Panopaea
Discovery Ref:[1]
Discoverer:Hermann Mayer Salomon Goldschmidt
Discovery Site:Paris Observatory
Discovered:5 May 1861
Mpc Name:(70) Panopaea
Named After:Panopea
Pronounced:[2]
Adjective:Panopaean
Mp Category:main belt[3]
Orbit Ref:[4]
Epoch:30 November 2008
Aphelion:3.0903 AU
Perihelion:2.1402 AU
Semimajor:2.61526 AU
Eccentricity:0.181641
Period:1544.79 days (4.23 years)
Inclination:11.584°
Asc Node:47.783°
Mean Anomaly:264.193°
Arg Peri:256.016°
Dimensions: km
Density:3.48 ± 1.05 g/cm3
Rotation:15.87 ± 0.04 hours[5]
Albedo:0.0675 ± 0.003[6]
Spectral Type:C[7]
Abs Magnitude:8.11[8]

70 Panopaea is a large main belt asteroid. Its orbit is close to those of the Eunomia asteroid family; however, Panopaea is a dark, primitive carbonaceous C-type asteroid in contrast to the S-type asteroids of the Eunomian asteroids. The spectra of the asteroid displays evidence of aqueous alteration. Photometric studies give a rotation period of 15.797 hours and an amplitude of in magnitude. Previous studies that suggested the rotation period may be twice this amount were rejected based upon further observation.

Panopaea was discovered by Hermann Goldschmidt on 5 May 1861.[1] It was his fourteenth and last asteroid discovery. It is named after Panopea, a nymph in Greek mythology; the name was chosen by Robert Main, President of the Royal Astronomical Society.[9] In 1862, Swedish astronomer Nils Christoffer Dunér gave a doctoral thesis on the orbital elements of this asteroid.

The orbit of 70 Panopaea places it in a mean motion resonance with the planets Jupiter and Saturn. The computed Lyapunov time for this asteroid is 24,000 years, indicating that it occupies a chaotic orbit that will change randomly over time because of gravitational perturbations of the planets.

The asteroid frequently makes close approaches with 16 Psyche, such as on 12 June 2040 when it will make a close approach of 0.00602 AU (2.34 Lunar distances, or approx. 770,000 km, 478,455 mi) to the asteroid, and on 2 June 2095 when it will come only 0.003372 AU (1.31 LD) to the asteroid.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000) . 31 December 2008 . IAU: Minor Planet Center . https://web.archive.org/web/20090202185140/http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/iau/lists/NumberedMPs000001.html. 2 February 2009 . live.
  2. 'Panopea' in Noah Webster (1884) A Practical Dictionary of the English Language
  3. Web site: 70 Panopaea . 31 December 2008 . JPL Small-Body Database . .
  4. Web site: (70) Panopaea . 31 December 2008 . AstDyS . . Italy .
  5. 1983A&AS...53...77S . Schroll . Schober . amp. Lightcurves and rotation periods for the asteroids 70 Panopaea and 235 Carolina . . 53 . 77–79 . 1983 .
  6. Web site: Supplemental IRAS Minor Planet Survey (SIMPS) . Tedesco . 31 December 2008 . IRAS-A-FPA-3-RDR-IMPS-V6.0 . . 2004 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090817051318/http://www.psi.edu/pds/resource/imps.html . 17 August 2009 . dead . etal .
  7. Web site: Asteroid Taxonomy . Neese . 27 December 2008 . EAR-A-5-DDR-TAXONOMY-V5.0 . . 2005 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090805185511/http://www.psi.edu/pds/resource/taxonomy.html . 5 August 2009 . dead .
  8. Web site: Asteroid Absolute Magnitudes . Tholen . 31 December 2008 . EAR-A-5-DDR-ASTERMAG-V11.0. . . 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090816200758/http://www.psi.edu/pds/resource/astermag.html . 16 August 2009 . dead .
  9. Book: Schmadel, Lutz . Lutz D. Schmadel . Dictionary of minor planet names . fifth . 2003 . Springer . Germany . 3-540-00238-3 . 22 .