43 Ariadne
Encyclopedia
43 Ariadne is a fairly large and bright main-belt asteroid
. It is the second-largest member of the Flora asteroid family
. It was discovered by N. R. Pogson on April 15, 1857, and named after the Greek
heroine Ariadne
.
(β, λ) = (-15°, 253°) with a 10° uncertainty. This gives an axial tilt
of about 105°.
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 the second-largest member of the Flora asteroid family
Flora family
The Flora family of asteroids is a large grouping of S-type asteroids in the inner main belt, whose origin and properties are relatively poorly understood at present...
. It was discovered by N. R. Pogson on April 15, 1857, and named after the Greek
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...
heroine Ariadne
Ariadne
Ariadne , in Greek mythology, was the daughter of King Minos of Crete, and his queen Pasiphaë, daughter of Helios, the Sun-titan. She aided Theseus in overcoming the Minotaur and was the bride of the god Dionysus.-Minos and Theseus:...
.
Characteristics
Ariadne is very elongate (almost twice as long as its smallest dimension) and probably bi-lobed or at least very angular. It is a retrograde rotator, although its pole points almost parallel to the ecliptic towards ecliptic coordinatesEcliptic coordinate system
The ecliptic coordinate system is a celestial coordinate system that uses the ecliptic for its fundamental plane. The ecliptic is the path that the sun appears to follow across the celestial sphere over the course of a year. It is also the intersection of the Earth's orbital plane and the celestial...
(β, λ) = (-15°, 253°) with a 10° uncertainty. This gives an axial tilt
Axial tilt
In astronomy, axial tilt is the angle between an object's rotational axis, and a line perpendicular to its orbital plane...
of about 105°.
Trivia
- For reasons unknown, "Asteroid 43 Ariadne" was included in a list of names of supporters of the NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
spacecraftSpacecraftA spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
StardustStardust (spacecraft)Stardust is a 300-kilogram robotic space probe launched by NASA on February 7, 1999 to study the asteroid 5535 Annefrank and collect samples from the coma of comet Wild 2. The primary mission was completed January 15, 2006, when the sample return capsule returned to Earth...
that was stored on a microchip within the spacecraft.
- The maximum apparent size of Ariadne is equivalent to the maximum apparent size of Pluto.