372 Palma
Main-belt asteroid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
372 Palma is one of the largest main-belt asteroids. It was discovered by French astronomer Auguste Charlois on August 19, 1893, in Nice. The name is thought to come from the capital city of Mallorca, an island of the Balearic Islands (Spain), which is located south of France. It is one of seven of Charlois's discoveries that were expressly named by the Astromomisches Rechen-Institut (Astronomical Calculation Institute).[4]
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.png) A three-dimensional model of 372 Palma based on its light curve | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Auguste Charlois |
| Discovery date | 19 August 1893 |
| Designations | |
| (372) Palma | |
| Pronunciation | /ËpælmÉ/[1] |
Named after | Palma |
| 1893 AH | |
| Main belt | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 122.54 yr (44757 d) |
| Aphelion | 3.9693 AU (593.80 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 2.33325 AU (349.049 Gm) |
| 3.15125 AU (471.420 Gm) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.25958 |
| 5.59 yr (2043.3 d) | |
| 275.769° | |
| 0° 10m 34.284s / day | |
| Inclination | 23.828° |
| 327.37° | |
| 115.582° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 173.6±2.8 km[2] 191.12 ± 2.68 km[3] |
| Mass | (5.15 ± 0.64) à 1018 kg[3] |
Mean density | 1.40 ± 0.18 g/cm3[3] |
| 8.567 h (0.3570 d)[2] | |
| 0.0655±0.002[2] | |
| BFC/B[2] | |
| 7.5[2] | |
This object is orbiting the Sun at a distance of 3.15 AU with a moderate eccentricity (ovalness) of 0.26 and an orbital period of 5.59 years. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 23.8° relative to the plane of the ecliptic. It is classified as a B-type asteroid and is spinning with a rotation period of 8.567 hours.[2]
Since 2000, 372 Palma has been observed 14 times in an asteroid occultation event, a number of which produced multiple chords revealing the asteroid's size and shape. It was observed occulting the radio galaxy 0141+268 on May 15, 2017, which yielded a diameter estimate of 192.1±4.8 km.[5] On September 13, 2018, it was revealed to be 120 miles long (193 kilometers long).[6]
