171 Ophelia

171 Ophelia
3D convex shape model of 171 Ophelia
Discovery
Discovered byA. Borrelly
Discovery date13 January 1877
Designations
(171) Ophelia
Pronunciation/ˈfliə/[1]
A877 AB
Main belt (Themis)
AdjectivesOphelian /ɒˈfliən/[2]
Orbital characteristics[3]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc122.15 yr (44615 d)
Aphelion3.5476 AU (530.71 Gm)
Perihelion2.7175 AU (406.53 Gm)
3.1326 AU (468.63 Gm)
Eccentricity0.13249
5.54 yr (2025.1 d)
11.164°
0° 10m 39.972s / day
Inclination2.5461°
100.52°
56.849°
Physical characteristics
130.808±1.483 km[3]
Mass(1.064 ± 0.535/0.351)×1018 kg[4]
Mean density
1.755 ± 0.883/0.579 g/cm3[4][a]
6.66535 h (0.277723 d)
0.0615±0.004
C
8.31

171 Ophelia is a large, dark Themistian asteroid[5] that was discovered by French astronomer Alphonse Borrelly on 13 January 1877, and named after Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet.[6]

This asteroid is a member of the Themis family of asteroids that share similar orbital elements.[7] It probably has a primitive composition, similar to that of the carbonaceous chondrite meteorites.

A 1979 study of the Algol-like light curve produced by this asteroid concluded that it was possible to model the brightness variation by assuming a binary system with a circular orbit, a period of 13.146 hours, and an inclination of 15° to the line of sight from the Earth.[8] Photometric observations of this asteroid at the Leura Observatory in Leura, Australia during 2006 gave a rotation period of 6.6666 ± 0.0002 hours and a brightness variation of 0.50 ± 0.02 in magnitude. This is in agreement with previous studies.[9]

Ophelia is also the name of a moon of Uranus.

  1. ^ Benjamin Smith (1903) The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
  2. ^ "Ophelian". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference JPL was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference FiengaEtAl2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Florczak_et_al_1999 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Schmadel, Lutz (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 30. ISBN 9783540002383. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Moore2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wijesinghe1979 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Oey2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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