194 Prokne
Encyclopedia
| 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 | 2.616 AU Astronomical unit An astronomical unit is a unit of length equal to about or approximately the mean Earth–Sun distance.... |
| Perihelion distance | 1.996 AU Astronomical unit An astronomical unit is a unit of length equal to about or approximately the mean Earth–Sun distance.... |
| Aphelion distance | 3.236 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... |
4.23 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... |
18.50° |
| Eccentricity | 0.237 |
| 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... |
168.4 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 |
15.67 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... |
7.68 |
| 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 |
0.053 |
| History 2 | |
| Discoverer | C. H. F. Peters Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters was a German-American astronomer, and one of the first to discover asteroids.... , 1879 |
194 Prokne is a very large and dark 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 has a primitive carbonaceous
Carbonaceous
Carbonaceous is the defining attribute of a substance rich in carbon. Particularly, carbonaceous hydrocarbons are very unsaturated, high-molecular-weight hydrocarbons, having an elevated carbon:hydrogen ratio....
composition.
It was discovered by C. H. F. Peters
Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters
Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters was a German-American astronomer, and one of the first to discover asteroids....
on March 21, 1879 in Clinton, New York
Clinton, Oneida County, New York
Clinton is a village in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 1,952 at the 2000 census. It was named for George Clinton, a royal governor of the colony of New York....
, and named after Procne
Procne
Procne may refer to:*In Greek mythology, Procne was sister to Philomela, as well as the wife of Tereus, and mother of Itys.*194 Prokne, an asteroid...
, the sister of Philomela
Philomela
In Greek mythology, Philomela was a daughter of Pandion I and Zeuxippe, and a sister of Procne. Despite Ovid's fanciful etymology as "lover of song" , the name means "lover of fruit," "lover of apples," or "lover of sheep."-Myth:Procne's husband, King Tereus of Thrace In Greek mythology,...
in Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
.
Stellar
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
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...
s by Prokne have been observed twice, in 1984 from Italy and again in 1999 from Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
(United States).