Petit-Prince (moon)
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| Discovery[1] and Designation | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by: | W. J. Merline, L. M. Close, C. Dumas, C. R. Chapman, F. Roddier, F. Menard, D. C. Slater, G. Duvert, J. C. Shelton, T. Morgan |
| Discovery date: | November 1, 1998 |
| MPC designation: | S/1998 (45) 1 |
| Minor planet category: | Main belt |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Semi-major axis: | 1184 ± 12 km |
| Eccentricity: | 0.0100 ± 0.0002 |
| Orbital period: | 4.766 ± 0.001 d |
| Avg. orbital speed: | 18.1 m/s |
| Inclination: | 8.0 ± 0.1° (with respect to Eugenia equator) |
| Satellite of: | 45 Eugenia |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions: | ~ 13 km (estimate) [3] |
| Mass: | ~ 1.2×1015 kg (estimate) [4] |
| Equatorial Escape velocity: | ~ 5 m/s (estimate) |
| Absolute magnitude: | 13.6 [5] |
(45) Eugenia I Petit-Prince is an asteroid moon that orbits the larger asteroid 45 Eugenia. It was discovered in 1998 by astronomers at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Initially, it received the provisional designation S/1998 (45) 1.
Petit-Prince was named in 2003 after Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's character The Little Prince, who lives on an asteroid called B612 and was in turn based on the Prince Imperial, son of Empress Eugenia.
Petit-Prince is 13 km in diameter, compared to 45 Eugenia's 214 km. It takes five days to complete an orbit around Eugenia.
Petit-Prince was the first asteroidal moon to be discovered by a ground-based telescope. Previously, the only known moon of an asteroid was Dactyl, discovered by the Galileo space probe around 243 Ida.
[edit] See also
- 2578 Saint-Exupéry
- 46610 Bésixdouze, named B-six-twelve in French (and whose number equals 0xB612)
- 612 Veronika
[edit] References
- ^ IAUC 7129, announcing the discovery
- ^ synthesis of several observations, F. Marchis.
- ^ Assuming the same albedo as Eugenia, then using the difference in absolute magnitude
- ^ Assuming same density and albedo as Eugenia
- ^ W.J. Merline at al. (1999). "Discovery of a moon orbiting the asteroid 45 Eugenia". Nature 401: 565.
[edit] External links
- Data sheet compiled by W. Robert Johnston
- IAUC 7503, announcing Petit-Prince's naming
- orbit details compiled by F. Marchis, includes diagrams
Vulcanoids · Near-Earth asteroids · Main belt · Jupiter Trojans · Centaurs · Damocloids · Comets · Trans-Neptunians (Kuiper belt • Scattered disc • Oort cloud)
For other objects and regions, see Asteroid groups and families, Binary asteroids, Asteroid moons and the Solar System.
For a complete listing, see List of asteroids. See also Pronunciation of asteroid names and Meanings of asteroid names.
