679 Pax

679 Pax

A three-dimensional model of 679 Pax based on its light curve.
Discovery
Discovered by August Kopff
Discovery site Heidelberg
Discovery date 28 January 1909
Designations
1909 FY
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 106.90 yr (39044 d)
Aphelion 3.3910 AU (507.29 Gm)
Perihelion 1.7808 AU (266.40 Gm)
2.5859 AU (386.85 Gm)
Eccentricity 0.31135
4.16 yr (1518.8 d)
33.4022°
 14m 13.272s / day
Inclination 24.387°
112.263°
266.736°
Earth MOID 0.956156 AU (143.0389 Gm)
Jupiter MOID 2.60338 AU (389.460 Gm)
Jupiter Tisserand parameter 3.233
Physical characteristics
Mean radius
25.735±1.2 km[1]
32.44 ± 1.82 km[2]
Mass (7.14 ± 1.99) × 1017 kg[2]
Mean density
4.99 ± 1.62 g/cm3[2]
8.452 h (0.3522 d)
0.1660±0.017
9.01

    679 Pax is a minor planet orbiting the Sun that was discovered by German astronomer August Kopff on January 28, 1909. It is named after Pax, a Roman goddess.

    Measurements using the adaptive optics at the W. M. Keck Observatory give a mean diameter of 62 km. This is 16% larger than the diameter estimated using the IRAS observatory. The asteroid is elongated with a size ratio of 1.66 ± 0.23 between the major and minor axes. Photometric measurements reported in 1982 gave a rotation period of 8.452 hours.[3]

    Polarimetric study of this asteroid reveals anomalous properties that suggests the regolith consists of a mixture of low and high albedo material. This may have been caused by fragmentation of an asteroid substrate with the spectral properties of CO3/CV3 carbonaceous chondrites.[4]

    References

    1. 1 2 Yeomans, Donald K., "679 Pax", JPL Small-Body Database Browser, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, retrieved 7 May 2016.
    2. 1 2 3 Carry, B. (December 2012), "Density of asteroids", Planetary and Space Science, 73, pp. 98–118, arXiv:1203.4336Freely accessible, Bibcode:2012P&SS...73...98C, doi:10.1016/j.pss.2012.03.009. See Table 1.
    3. Marchis, F.; et al. (November 2006), "Shape, size and multiplicity of main-belt asteroids. I. Keck Adaptive Optics survey", Icarus, 185 (1), pp. 39–63, Bibcode:2006Icar..185...39M, doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2006.06.001, PMC 2600456Freely accessible, PMID 19081813, retrieved 2013-03-27.
    4. Gil-Hutton, R.; et al. (April 2008), "New cases of unusual polarimetric behavior in asteroids", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 482 (1), pp. 309–314, Bibcode:2008A&A...482..309G, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20078965.

    External links


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