192 Nausikaa

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...
Semimajor axis	2.402 AU Astronomical unit An astronomical unit is a unit of length equal to about or approximately the mean Earth–Sun distance....
Perihelion distance	1.808 AU Astronomical unit An astronomical unit is a unit of length equal to about or approximately the mean Earth–Sun distance....
Aphelion distance	2.997 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...	3.72 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...	6.83°
Eccentricity	0.247
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...	103.3 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...  3	13.622 hours
Spectral class 5	S S-type asteroid S-type asteroids are of a stony composition, hence the name. Approximately 17% of asteroids are of this type, making it the second most common after the C-type.-Characteristics:...
App. magnitude Apparent magnitude The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...	8.20
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...	7.13
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	0.233
History 2
Discoverer	J. Palisa Johann Palisa Johann Palisa was an Austrian astronomer, born in Opava in Austrian Silesia .He was a prolific discoverer of asteroids, discovering 122 in all, from 136 Austria in 1874 to 1073 Gellivara in 1923... , 1879

192 Nausikaa (icon ) is a large 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...

 asteroid

Asteroid

Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...

. It is an S-type asteroid

S-type asteroid

S-type asteroids are of a stony composition, hence the name. Approximately 17% of asteroids are of this type, making it the second most common after the C-type.-Characteristics:...

.

It was discovered by Johann Palisa

Johann Palisa

Johann Palisa was an Austrian astronomer, born in Opava in Austrian Silesia .He was a prolific discoverer of asteroids, discovering 122 in all, from 136 Austria in 1874 to 1073 Gellivara in 1923...

 on February 17, 1879 at Pula, then in Austria, now in Croatia. The name derives from Nausicaä

Nausicaa

Nausicaa is a character in Homer's Odyssey . She is the daughter of King Alcinous and Queen Arete of Phaeacia. Her name, in Greek, means "burner of ships".-Role in the Odyssey:...

, a princess in Homer

Homer

In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...

's Odyssey

Odyssey

The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...

.

Based on the lightcurve data obtained from Nausikaa, 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 1985. However, it has not been confirmed. http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/astro/asteroidmoonsq.html

A shape model of Nausikaa has been constructed, also based on the lightcurve data. It indicates a roughly cut, but not very elongated body. http://www.astro.helsinki.fi/~kaselain/asteroids.html.

In 1998 an occultation

Occultation

An occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden by another object that passes between it and the observer. The word is used in astronomy . It can also refer to any situation wherein an object in the foreground blocks from view an object in the background...

of a star by the asteroid was observed from the United States.

Nausikaa's orbital period is 3.72 years, its distance from the Sun varying between 1.81 and 2.99 AU. The orbital eccentricity is .246. Nausikaa will brighten to magnitude 8.3 at a quite favorable opposition on 2 September 2011, when it will be 1.875 AU from the Sun and 0.866 AU from the Earth.