Harman Patil (Editor)

43 Ariadne

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Discovered by
  
N. R. Pogson

Alternative names
  
none

Perihelion
  
274.339 Gm (1.834 AU)

Orbits
  
Sun

Discoverer
  
N. R. Pogson

Asteroid family
  
Flora family

Discovery date
  
April 15, 1857

Aphelion
  
384.954 Gm (2.573 AU)

Discovered
  
15 April 1857

Spectral type
  
S-type asteroid

Named after
  
Ariadne

43 Ariadne

Minor planet category
  
Main belt (Flora family)

Similar
  
N R Pogson discoveries, Other celestial objects

43 Ariadne /ˌæriˈædniː/ is a fairly large and bright main-belt asteroid. It is the second-largest member of the Flora asteroid family. It was discovered by N. R. Pogson on April 15, 1857, and named after the Greek heroine Ariadne.

Contents

Characteristics

Ariadne is very elongate (almost twice as long as its smallest dimension) and probably bi-lobed or at least very angular. It is a retrograde rotator, although its pole points almost parallel to the ecliptic towards ecliptic coordinates (β, λ) = (-15°, 253°) with a 10° uncertainty. This gives an axial tilt of about 105°.

Trivia

  • For reasons unknown, "Asteroid 43 Ariadne" was included in a list of names of supporters of the NASA spacecraft Stardust that was stored on a microchip within the spacecraft.
  • The maximum apparent size of Ariadne is equivalent to the maximum apparent size of Pluto.

    • References

    43 Ariadne Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA