Discovered by C. Kowal MPC designation 2241 Alcathous Orbits Sun Discoverer Charles T. Kowal Asteroid group Jupiter trojan | Discovery date 22 November 1979 Discovered 22 November 1979 Spectral type D-type asteroid Discovery site Palomar Observatory | |
Pronunciation ælˈkæθoʊəs (al-kath'-oe-əs) Named after Alcathous
(Greek mythology, Iliad) Alternative names 1979 WM · 1950 NC
1968 WF Similar Jupiter trojan, Solar System, 911 Agamemnon, Sun, 47 Aglaja | ||
2241 Alcathous (AL-kath'-OE-əs), provisional designation 1979 WM, is a large, dark and reddish Jupiter trojan, about 114 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 22 November 1979, by American astronomer Charles Kowal at the U.S. Palomar Observatory in southern California.
It is classified as a D-type asteroid in the Tholen taxonomic classification, and the eighth largest of a total of 46 known asteroids of this spectral type. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 4.8–5.5 AU once every 11 years and 10 months (4,312 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.07 and an inclination of 17° with respect to the ecliptic.of 4.8–5.5 AU once every 11 years and 10 months (4,317 days). Its orbit is tilted by 17 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic and shows an eccentricity of 0.07. The body has a well-determined rotation period of 7.69 hours, measured by several concurring photometric light-curve observations with a brightness variation of 0.20–0.25 magnitude, published during 2011–2015, superseding a less accurate analysis from the 1990s.
Based on the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite, and on preliminary results from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer's NEOWISE mission, the asteroid has a low geometric albedo in the range of 0.04 to 0.05, a typical value for its spectral type.
It is named after Alcathous, brave and handsome Trojan leader in Homer's Iliad. Alcathous was the husband of Hippodamia (also see 692 Hippodamia) the eldest daughter of Anchises (also see 1173 Anchises), who excelled all other girls of her age in beauty, skill and wit. Alcathous, previously uninjured in the Trojan War, was struck by Poseidon (also see 4341 Poseidon) with blindness and paralysis and was killed easily by a spear thrown by the Greek general and Cretan commander, Idomeneus (also see 2759 Idomeneus). Naming citation was published on 10 November 1992 (M.P.C. 21128).