617 Patroclus

617 Patroclus
Hubble Space Telescope image composite of Patroclus and its companion Menoetius, taken in 2018
Discovery [1]
Discovered byA. Kopff
Discovery siteHeidelberg Obs.
Discovery date17 October 1906
Designations
(617) Patroclus
Pronunciation/pəˈtroʊkləs/[2]
Named after
Πάτροκλος Patroklos
(Greek mythology)[3]
1906 VY · 1941 XC
1962 NB
Jupiter trojan [1][4][5]
Trojan [6][7] · background [7]
AdjectivesPatroclean /pætrəˈkliːən/[8]
Orbital characteristics [4]
Epoch 25 February 2023 (JD 2460000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Aphelion5.937 AU
Perihelion4.480 AU
5.209 AU
Eccentricity0.1399
11.89 yr (4,342 d)
319.506°
0° 4m 58.464s / day
Inclination22.062°
44.360°
308.306°
Known satellites1 (Menoetius)[9]
Jupiter MOID0.1868 AU
TJupiter2.835
Physical characteristics
Dimensions127 km × 117 km × 98 km (primary only)[10]
113±3 km (primary only)[10]
140.36±0.87 km[11]
140.85±3.37 km[12]
140.92±4.7 km[13]
143.14±8.37 km[14]
154 km[10]
Volume1.36×106 km3[10]
Mass(1.36±0.11)×1018 kg[14]
1.20×1018 kg[10]
Mean density
0.88±0.17 g/cm3[14][10]
102.8 h[15]
102 h[16]
103.02±0.40 h[17]
103.5±0.3 h[18]
0.047±0.003[11][12][13]
D (Tholen)[19]
C0 (Barucci)[19]
D (Tedesco)[19]
U–B = 0.215±0.045[19]
B–V = 0.710±0.050[20]
V–R = 0.420±0.030[20]
V–I = 0.830±0.020[20]
8.18[4][11][12][13][5]

617 Patroclus (/pəˈtroʊkləs/ pə-TROH-kləs) is a large binary Jupiter trojan asteroid. It is a dark D-type asteroid and a slow rotator, due to the 103-hour orbital period of its two components. It is one of five Jupiter trojan asteroids targeted by the Lucy space probe, and is scheduled for a flyby in 2033.

Patroclus was discovered on 17 October 1906, by astronomer August Kopff at the Heidelberg Observatory in Germany, and was named after Patroclus in Greek mythology.[1] It was the second trojan to be discovered and the only member of the Trojan camp named after a Greek figure, as the convention of naming one 'camp' after Greek figures of the Trojan War and the other after Trojan figures had not yet been established.[3]

Patroclus was long thought to be one of the largest Jupiter trojans, with a diameter on the order of 150 km. However, in 2001 it was discovered to be a binary asteroid of two similarly sized objects. The name Patroclus is now assigned to the larger component, some 110–115 km in diameter, while the secondary, slightly smaller at 100–105 km in diameter, has been named Menoetius (/mɪˈniːʃəs/ mə-NEE-shəs).[a] This was the first discovery of a binary trojan asteroid.[9]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference MPC-object was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Patroclus". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
  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. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference lcdb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference MPC-Jupiter-Trojans was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference AstDys-object was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Riggs (1972) The Christian poet in Paradise lost
  9. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference johnstonsarchive was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference Buie-2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Grav-2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference AKARI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference SIMPS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Carry-2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference Marchis-2006a was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference geneva-obs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference Mueller-2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference Oey-2012c was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Ferret was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Chatelain-2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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