174 Phaedra

174 Phaedra
A three-dimensional model of 174 Phaedra based on its light curve.
Discovery
Discovered byJ. C. Watson
Discovery date2 September 1877
Designations
(174) Phaedra
Pronunciation/ˈfdrə/[1]
A877 RA
Main belt
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc138.61 yr (50629 d)
Aphelion3.2658 AU (488.56 Gm)
Perihelion2.4572 AU (367.59 Gm)
2.8615 AU (428.07 Gm)
Eccentricity0.14128
4.84 yr (1768.0 d)
330.70°
0° 12m 13.032s / day
Inclination12.124°
327.69°
289.08°
Earth MOID1.47439 AU (220.566 Gm)
Jupiter MOID1.99981 AU (299.167 Gm)
TJupiter3.254
Physical characteristics
34.62±2.2 km
5.744 h (0.2393 d)
0.1495±0.021
S
8.48

174 Phaedra is a sizable, rocky main belt asteroid that was discovered by Canadian-American astronomer James Craig Watson on September 2, 1877, and named after Phaedra, the tragic lovelorn queen in Greek mythology.

The asteroid is orbiting the Sun with a period of 4.84 years and an eccentricity of 0.14. Lightcurve data obtained from Phaedra indicates a rather irregular or elongated body. It has a cross-section size of ~35 km. Photometric observations of this asteroid at the Shadowbox Observatory in Carmel, Indiana, during 2009 gave a light curve with a period of 4.96 ± 0.01 hours. This is consistent with previous studies in 1977, 1988, and 2008.[3] The asteroid's pole of rotation lies just 5–16° away from the plane of the ecliptic.[4]

  1. ^ Noah Webster (1884) A Practical Dictionary of the English Language
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference JPL was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ruthroff2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Marciniak2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).