(1866) Sisyphus

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Asteroid
(1866) Sisyphus
Properties of the orbit ( animation )
Epoch:  4th September 2017 ( JD 2,458,000.5)
Orbit type Apollo type
Major semi-axis 1.8934  AU
eccentricity 0.5386
Perihelion - aphelion 0.8737 AU - 2.9131 AU
Inclination of the orbit plane 41.202 °
Length of the ascending node 63.498 °
Argument of the periapsis 293.094 °
Sidereal period 2.61  a
Mean orbital velocity 21.64 km / s
Physical Properties
Medium diameter 8.48 km
Albedo 0.15
Rotation period 2.4  h
Absolute brightness 12.4 mag
Spectral class S type
history
Explorer Paul Wild
Date of discovery 5th December 1972
Another name 1972 XA
Source: Unless otherwise stated, the data comes from JPL Small-Body Database Browser . The affiliation to an asteroid family is automatically determined from the AstDyS-2 database . Please also note the note on asteroid items.

(1866) Sisyphus is a near-Earth asteroid (planetoid) of the Apollo type .

The asteroid was discovered on December 5, 1972 by Paul Wild at the Swiss Zimmerwald observatory and is named after Sisyphus , a well-known figure in Greek mythology .

On November 25, 1972, the asteroid was photographed by Diethart Ruhnow and the then 15-year-old Stephan Petermann at the Rodewisch school observatory in what was then the GDR . This pre-discovery photograph was only seen after the discovery.

Sisyphus moves between 0.8737  AU ( perihelion ) and 2.9131 AU ( aphelion ) around the sun in around 2.6 years . The orbital eccentricity is 0.5386, the orbit is unusually steeply inclined towards the ecliptic at 41.2 ° .

Sisyphus is an S-type asteroid with an albedo of about 0.15. It rotates on its own axis in just 2.4 hours and consequently has an exceptionally fast rotation. With a diameter of just under 8.5 km, Sisyphus is the largest known Apollo asteroid.

exploration

A small natural satellite 0.8 km in diameter accompanying Sisyphus was discovered on radar images from the Arecibo Observatory in 1985 .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. Asteroid Sisyphus - LUA ASTROLOGY. Retrieved June 27, 2017 .
  2. ^ Curtis Peebles: Asteroid: A History. 2000, accessed July 15, 2017 .
  3. (1866) Sisyphus. Retrieved June 28, 2017 .