171 Ophelia
Large main-belt asteroid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
171 Ophelia is a large, dark Themistian asteroid[5] that was discovered by French astronomer Alphonse Borrelly on 13 January 1877. It was named after Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet.[6] This object is orbiting the Sun at a distance of 3.13 AU with an eccentricity of 0.13 and an orbital period of 5.54 years. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 2.55° to the plane of the ecliptic.
_Ophelia.png)
3D convex shape model of 171 Ophelia | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | A. Borrelly |
| Discovery date | 13 January 1877 |
| Designations | |
| (171) Ophelia | |
| Pronunciation | /oÊËfiËliÉ/ oh-FEE-lee-É[1] |
| A877 AB | |
| Main belt (Themis) | |
| Adjectives | Ophelian /ÉËfiËliÉn/[2] |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 122.15 yr (44615 d) |
| Aphelion | 3.5476 AU (530.71 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 2.7175 AU (406.53 Gm) |
| 3.1326 AU (468.63 Gm) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.13249 |
| 5.54 yr (2025.1 d) | |
| 11.164° | |
| 0° 10m 39.972s / day | |
| Inclination | 2.5461° |
| 100.52° | |
| 56.849° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 130.808±1.483 km[3] | |
| Mass | (1.064 ± 0.535/0.351)Ã1018 kg[4] |
Mean density | 1.755 ± 0.883/0.579 g/cm3[4][a] |
| 6.66535 h (0.277723 d) | |
| 0.0615±0.004 | |
| C | |
| 8.31 | |
This asteroid is a member of the Themis family of asteroids that share similar orbital elements.[7] It probably has a primitive composition, similar to that of the carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. The body spans a diameter of 131 km. An analysis of 40 light curves in 2015 suggested it has a convex, elongated shape with one end smaller than the other.[8]
A 1979 study of the Algol-like light curve produced by this asteroid concluded that it was possible to model the brightness variation by assuming a binary system with a circular orbit, a period of 13.146 hours, and an inclination of 15° to the line of sight from the Earth.[9] Photometric observations of this asteroid at the Leura Observatory in Leura, Australia during 2006 gave a rotation period of 6.6666 ± 0.0002 hours and a brightness variation of 0.50 ± 0.02 in magnitude. This is in agreement with previous studies.[10]
Notes
- Assuming a diameter of 105.01 ± 3.54 km.
