296 Phaëtusa

296 Phaëtusa
Modelled shape of Phaëtusa from its lightcurve
Discovery
Discovered byAuguste Charlois
Discovery date19 August 1890
Designations
Pronunciation/feɪ.əˈtjuːsə/[1]
Named after
Phaethusa
A890 QB
A917 XB
1930 YH[2]
Main belt[3]
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc105.57 yr (38560 d)[2]
Aphelion2.58602 AU (386.863 Gm)
Perihelion1.87155 AU (279.980 Gm)
2.22879 AU (333.422 Gm)
Eccentricity0.16028
3.327442 yr (1215.348 d)
19.95 km/s
272.510°
0° 17m 46.586s / day
Inclination1.74838°
121.548°
252.449°
Physical characteristics
8.196±0.100 km[2]
4.5385 h (0.18910 d)[2]
0.379±0.046 (geometric)[2]
12.53[2]

296 Phaëtusa is a small Main belt asteroid.[3][2] It was discovered by Auguste Charlois on 19 August 1890 in Nice.[3]

Discovery

Phaëtusa was discovered on 19 August 1890 by Charlois A. at Nice.[3][2]

Observations

The observation arc of Phaëtusa began on 7 September 1920 and was last observed on 4 April 2026.[2] Giving it a long observation arc of 106 years.[2] In these 106 years, Phaëtusa has been observed 7820 times.[2]

Orbit

Phaëtusa is a main belt asteroid[2][3] that orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.872–2.586 astronomical units (AU) with a semi-major axis or average orbital distance of 2.229 AU once every 3.33 years[2] (for reference, Ceres's orbit is at 2.77 AU).[4]

Phaëtusa's orbit has an eccentricity of 0.1603 and an inclination of 1.748° with respect to the ecliptic.[2]

Physical characteristics

Phaëtusa has a diameter of approximately 8.196±0.100 km,[2] its geometric albedo is 0.379±0.046.[2] Phaëtusa rotates on its axis once every 4.5385 hours.[2] The B-V color index of Phaëtusa is 0.887±0.013.[2]

References

  1. ↑ 'Phaethusa' in Noah Webster (1884) A Practical Dictionary of the English Language
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "296 Phaetusa". JPL Small-Body Database. NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "(296) Phaëtusa = 1890 QB = 1917 XB = 1930 YH". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
  4. ↑ "AstDyS-2 Ceres Synthetic Proper Orbital Elements". Department of Mathematics, University of Pisa, Italy. Archived from the original on 21 November 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2011.