1647 Menelaus

1647 Menelaus
Discovery[1]
Discovered byS. B. Nicholson
Discovery sitePalomar Obs.
Discovery date23 June 1957
Designations
(1647) Menelaus
Pronunciation/mɛnəˈleɪəs/[2]
Named after
Menelaus[3]
(Greek mythology)
1957 MK
Jupiter trojan[1][4]
Greek[5] · background[6]
AdjectivesMenelaian
Orbital characteristics[4]
Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc65.57 yr (23,949 d)
Aphelion5.3255 AU
Perihelion5.1006 AU
5.2130 AU
Eccentricity0.0216
11.90 yr (4,347 d)
101.16°
0° 4m 58.08s / day
Inclination5.6507°
240.32°
298.95°
Jupiter MOID0.1563 AU
TJupiter2.9900
Physical characteristics
42.72±0.517 km[7]
17.74±0.01 h[8]
0.056±0.009[7]
C (assumed)[9]
V–R = 0.428±0.043[10]
V–I = 0.866±0.043[10]
10.5[1][4][9]

1647 Menelaus /mɛnəˈleɪəs/ is a mid-sized Jupiter trojan from the Greek camp, approximately 42 kilometers (26 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 23 June 1957 by American astronomer Seth Nicholson at the Palomar Observatory in California, and later named after the Spartan King Menelaus from Greek mythology.[1][3] The dark asteroid has a rotation period of 17.7 hours.[9] It is the principal body of the proposed Menelaus cluster, which encompasses several, mostly tentative Jovian asteroid families.

  1. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference MPC-object was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Noah Webster (1884) A Practical Dictionary of the English Language
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference springer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference jpldata was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference MPC-Jupiter-Trojans was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference AstDys-object was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Grav-2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Stephens-2016k was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference lcdb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Hainaut-2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).