94 Aurora is one of the largest main-belt asteroids. With an albedo of only 0.04, it is darker than soot, and has a primitive composition consisting of carbonaceous material. It was discovered by J. C. Watson on September 6, 1867, in Ann Arbor, and named after Aurora, the Roman goddess of the dawn.
![]() A three-dimensional model of 94 Aurora based on its light curve. | |
Discovery | |
---|---|
Discovered by | James Craig Watson |
Discovery date | 6 September 1867 |
Designations | |
(94) Aurora | |
Pronunciation | /əˈrɔːrə, ɒ-/[1] |
Named after | Aurōra |
Main belt | |
Adjectives | Aurorean /ɔːˈrɔːriən/[2] |
Orbital characteristics[3] | |
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 143.72 yr (52494 d) |
Aphelion | 3.45175 AU (516.374 Gm) |
Perihelion | 2.86831 AU (429.093 Gm) |
3.16003 AU (472.734 Gm) | |
Eccentricity | 0.092315 |
5.62 yr (2051.8 d) | |
Average orbital speed | 16.73 km/s |
132.718° | |
0° 10m 31.638s / day | |
Inclination | 7.97343° |
2.59859° | |
60.8260° | |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 225 × 173 km[4] |
204.89±3.6 km (IRAS)[3] | |
Mass | (6.606 ± 2.584/2.173)×1018 kg[5] |
Mean density | 1.676 ± 0.655/0.551 g/cm3[5][a] |
Equatorial surface gravity | 0.042 m/s² |
Equatorial escape velocity | 0.0928 km/s |
7.22 h (0.301 d)[3] | |
0.0395±0.001[3] 0.0395[6] | |
Temperature | ~157 K |
C[3] | |
7.74[3] | |
This asteroid is orbiting the Sun with a period of 5.62 years and a relatively low eccentricity of 0.092. It is spinning with a rotation period of 7.22 hours. Observations of an occultation using nine chords indicate an oval outline of 225×173 km.[4] The asteroid's pole of rotation lies just 4–16° away from the plane of the ecliptic.[7]
Notes
edit- ^ Assuming a diameter of 196 ± 4 km.
References
edit- ^ "aurora". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- ^ "aurorean". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
But see 'aurora' for the first vowel. - ^ a b c d e f "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 94 Aurora" (2008-11-09 last obs). Retrieved 13 May 2016.
- ^ a b "Occultation of TYC 6910-01938-1 by (94) Aurora - 2001 October 12". Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2008. (Chords) Archived 2008-10-21 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Fienga, A.; Avdellidou, C.; Hanuš, J. (February 2020). "Asteroid masses obtained with INPOP planetary ephemerides". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 492 (1). doi:10.1093/mnras/stz3407.
- ^ Asteroid Data Sets Archived 2009-12-17 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Marciniak, A.; et al. (May 2011), "Photometry and models of selected main belt asteroids. VIII. Low-pole asteroids", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 529: 14, Bibcode:2011A&A...529A.107M, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201015365, A107
External links
edit- 94 Aurora at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
- 94 Aurora at the JPL Small-Body Database