171 Ophelia
Encyclopedia
171 Ophelia
Orbital characteristics [ftp://ftp.lowell.edu/pub/elgb/astorb.html 1]
Orbit
Orbit
In physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of an object around a point in space, for example the orbit of a planet around the center of a star system, such as the Solar System...

 type
Main belt
Asteroid belt
The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...

 (Themis
Themis family
The Themis or Themistian Asteroid Family is a Hirayama family of asteroids found in the outer portion of the main asteroid belt, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. At a mean distance of 3.13 AU from the Sun, it is one of the more populous asteroid families...

)
Semimajor axis  3.132 AU
Astronomical unit
An astronomical unit is a unit of length equal to about or approximately the mean Earth–Sun distance....

Perihelion distance 2.732 AU
Astronomical unit
An astronomical unit is a unit of length equal to about or approximately the mean Earth–Sun distance....

Aphelion distance 3.532 AU
Astronomical unit
An astronomical unit is a unit of length equal to about or approximately the mean Earth–Sun distance....

Orbital period
Orbital period
The orbital period is the time taken for a given object to make one complete orbit about another object.When mentioned without further qualification in astronomy this refers to the sidereal period of an astronomical object, which is calculated with respect to the stars.There are several kinds of...

 
5.54 years
Inclination
Inclination
Inclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction.-Orbits:The inclination is one of the six orbital parameters describing the shape and orientation of a celestial orbit...

 
2.54°
Eccentricity  0.128
Physical characteristics [ftp://ftp.lowell.edu/pub/elgb/astorb.html 1]
Diameter
Diameter
In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints are on the circle. The diameters are the longest chords of the circle...

 
116.7 km
Rotation period
Rotation period
The rotation period of an astronomical object is the time it takes to complete one revolution around its axis of rotation relative to the background stars...

 
13.4 hours
Spectral class  C
C-type asteroid
C-type asteroids are carbonaceous asteroids. They are the most common variety, forming around 75% of known asteroids, and an even higher percentage in the outer part of the asteroid belt beyond 2.7 AU, which is dominated by this asteroid type...

Abs. magnitude
Absolute magnitude
Absolute magnitude is the measure of a celestial object's intrinsic brightness. it is also the apparent magnitude a star would have if it were 32.6 light years away from Earth...

 
8.31
Albedo
Albedo
Albedo , or reflection coefficient, is the diffuse reflectivity or reflecting power of a surface. It is defined as the ratio of reflected radiation from the surface to incident radiation upon it...

 4
0.062
History 2
Discoverer A. Borrelly, 1877


171 Ophelia is a large, dark Themistian asteroid
Themis family
The Themis or Themistian Asteroid Family is a Hirayama family of asteroids found in the outer portion of the main asteroid belt, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. At a mean distance of 3.13 AU from the Sun, it is one of the more populous asteroid families...

. It probably has a primitive composition, similar to that of the carbonaceous
Carbonate
In chemistry, a carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid, characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, . The name may also mean an ester of carbonic acid, an organic compound containing the carbonate group C2....

 chondrite
Chondrite
Chondrites are stony meteorites that have not been modified due to melting or differentiation of the parent body. They formed when various types of dust and small grains that were present in the early solar system accreted to form primitive asteroids...

 meteorite
Meteorite
A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...

s.

It was discovered by Alphonse Borrelly on January 13, 1877, and named after the character in Shakespeare's Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...

. The discovery of a possible satellite
Natural satellite
A natural satellite or moon is a celestial body that orbits a planet or smaller body, which is called its primary. The two terms are used synonymously for non-artificial satellites of planets, of dwarf planets, and of minor planets....

 was reported in 1979 based on lightcurve data. However, it has not been confirmed.

Ophelia
Ophelia (moon)
Ophelia is a moon of Uranus. It was discovered from the images taken by Voyager 2 on January 20, 1986, and was given the temporary designation S/1986 U 8. It was not seen until the Hubble Space Telescope recovered it in 2003. Ophelia was named after the daughter of Polonius, Ophelia, in...

 is also the name of a moon
Natural satellite
A natural satellite or moon is a celestial body that orbits a planet or smaller body, which is called its primary. The two terms are used synonymously for non-artificial satellites of planets, of dwarf planets, and of minor planets....

 of Uranus
Uranus
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It has the third-largest planetary radius and fourth-largest planetary mass in the Solar System. It is named after the ancient Greek deity of the sky Uranus , the father of Cronus and grandfather of Zeus...

.
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