Discovered by E. W. Elst MPC designation 5254 Ulysses Discovered 7 November 1986 Orbits Sun Asteroid group Jupiter trojan | Discovery date 7 November 1986 Alternative names 1986 VG1 · 1990 FN Aphelion 5.87 m Discoverer Eric Walter Elst | |
Pronunciation /juːˈlɪsiːz/ (ew-lis'-eez) Named after Ulysses
(latinized name of Odysseus) Discovery site Haute-Provence Observatory Similar Sun, 911 Agamemnon, 201 Penelope | ||
5254 Ulysses (ew-LIS'-eez; from Greek: Ὀδυσσεύς), provisional designation 1986 VG1, is a carbonaceous Jovian asteroid or Jupiter trojan from the Greek camp, approximately 78 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 7 November 1986, by Belgian astronomer Eric Elst at Haute-Provence Observatory at Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire near Marseille, southeastern France.
The C-type Jovian asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 4.6–5.9 AU once every 11 years and 12 months (4,378 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.12 and an inclination of 24° with respect to the ecliptic. The asteroid's observation arc starts in 1986, as no precoveries were taken and no identifications were made prior to its discovery.
In September 1994, photometric observations of this asteroid were made by astronomers Stefano Mottola and Uri Carsenty at ESO's La Silla Observatory, Chile, using the Bochum 0.61-metre Telescope. The observations were used to build a light curve showing a well-defined rotation period of 7001287200000000000♠28.72±0.08 hours with a brightness variation of 6999320000000000000♠0.32±0.01 magnitude (U=3). In March 2014, another rotational light-curve was obtained at the U.S. Palomar Transient Factory, California, which gave a concurring period of 7001287840000000000♠28.7840±0.0376 hours and an amplitude of 0.33 in magnitude (U=2).
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS), the Japanese Akari satellite, and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures between 76.2 and 80.0 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.058 and 0.087. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.0665 and a diameter of 78.0 kilometers.
The minor planet is named after Ulysses, the Latinized name of Odysseus, who is the hero in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, the two major ancient Greek epic poems. In the Trojan War, he killed the Trojan Diomedes, restored the command of King Agamemnon and rallied the tired Greeks. Odysseus also thought of building the great wooden Trojan Horse. After the war, he went on a nine-year long adventurous journey and met the young and pretty Nausicaa, as narrated in the Odyssey. The famous novel Ulysses by Irish poet James Joyce is also titled after Odysseus' Latinized name. For reference, also see the minor planets 1143 Odysseus, 5700 Homerus, 911 Agamemnon, 1437 Diomedes, 192 Nausikaa and 5418 Joyce. Naming citation was published on 10 November 1992 (M.P.C. 21134).