101 Helena

101 Helena
Orbital diagram
Discovery
Discovered byJames Craig Watson
Discovery date15 August 1868
Designations
(101) Helena
Pronunciation/ˈhɛlənə/[1]
Named after
Helen of Troy
A868 PA
Main belt
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc145.07 yr (52986 d)
Aphelion2.94606 AU (440.724 Gm)
Perihelion2.22353 AU (332.635 Gm)
2.58480 AU (386.681 Gm)
Eccentricity0.13977
4.16 yr (1517.9 d)
18.44 km/s
236.265°
0° 14m 13.823s / day
Inclination10.1976°
343.419°
348.030°
Earth MOID1.21369 AU (181.565 Gm)
Jupiter MOID2.4117 AU (360.79 Gm)
TJupiter3.387
Physical characteristics
Dimensions65.84±1.3 km[2]
Mass3.0×1017 kg
Mean density
2.0 g/cm3
Equatorial surface gravity
0.0184 m/s2
Equatorial escape velocity
0.0348 km/s
23.080 h (0.9617 d)[2]
0.1898±0.008[2]
Temperature~173 K
S[3]
8.33

101 Helena is a large, rocky main-belt asteroid. It was discovered by Canadian-American astronomer J. C. Watson on August 15, 1868,[4] and was named after Helen of Troy in Greek mythology.

This object is orbiting the Sun with a period of 4.16 years and an eccentricity of 0.14. Its orbital plane is inclined by 10.2° to the plane of the ecliptic. Radar observations were made of this object on Oct 7 and 19, 2001 from the Arecibo Observatory. Analysis of the data gave an estimated ellipsoidal diameter of 71×63×63 ± 16% km. The mean diameter estimated from IRAS infrared measurements is 66 km, in agreement with the radar findings. It is classified as an S-type asteroid in the Tholen system,[3][5] suggesting a predominantly silicate composition. 101 Helena is spinning on its axis with a period of 23 hours.[2]

  1. ^ Noah Webster (1884) A Practical Dictionary of the English Language
  2. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference JPL was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference DeMeo2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference IAU_MPC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Icarus186 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).