1647 Menelaus
Encyclopedia
1647 Menelaus is a Jupiter Trojan asteroid that orbits in the Lagrangian point
of the Sun
-Jupiter
system, in the "Greek Camp" of Trojan asteroids. It was named after the Greek
hero Menelaus
. It was discovered by Seth Barnes Nicholson
on June 23, 1957 in Palomar
, California
at the Palomar Observatory
.
Lagrangian point
The Lagrangian points are the five positions in an orbital configuration where a small object affected only by gravity can theoretically be stationary relative to two larger objects...
of the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
-Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
system, in the "Greek Camp" of Trojan asteroids. It was named after the Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
hero Menelaus
Menelaus
Menelaus may refer to;*Menelaus, one of the two most known Atrides, a king of Sparta and son of Atreus and Aerope*Menelaus on the Moon, named after Menelaus of Alexandria.*Menelaus , brother of Ptolemy I Soter...
. It was discovered by Seth Barnes Nicholson
Seth Barnes Nicholson
Seth Barnes Nicholson was an American astronomer.Nicholson was born in Springfield, Illinois and was raised in rural Illinois...
on June 23, 1957 in Palomar
Palomar Mountain
Palomar Mountain is a mountain in the Peninsular Ranges in northern San Diego County. It is famous as the location of the Palomar Observatory and Hale Telescope, and known for the Palomar Mountain State Park.-History:...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
at the Palomar Observatory
Palomar Observatory
Palomar Observatory is a privately owned observatory located in San Diego County, California, southeast of Pasadena's Mount Wilson Observatory, in the Palomar Mountain Range. At approximately elevation, it is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology...
.
External links
- Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets
- Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Ephemeris