4486 Mithra

Infobox Planet | discovery=yes | physical_characteristics = yes | bgcolour=#FFFFC0
name = 4486 Mithra
discoverer = Eric Elst, Vladimir Shkodrov
discovered = September 22, 1987
alt_names = 1987 SB
mp_category = Apollo, Mars crosser
epoch = December 1, 2005 (JD 2453705.5 )
semimajor = 329.66 Gm 2.20 AU
perihelion = 111.84 Gm (0.75 AU)
aphelion = 547.47 Gm (3.66 AU)
eccentricity = 0.66
period = 1194.84 d (3.27 a)
inclination = 3.03°
asc_node = 82.32°
arg_peri = 168.79°
mean_anomaly = 245.56°
avg_speed =17.65 km/s
dimensions = 2-5 km
mass =
density =
surface_grav =
escape_velocity =
rotation =100 h
spectral_type = S
abs_magnitude =15.6
albedo =
single_temperature =

4486 Mithra is an Apollo and Mars-crosser asteroid. It was discovered by Eric Elst and Vladimir Shkodrov on September 22, 1987. It is named after Mithra, Indo-Iranian god of light. In Asia Minor around 330 B.C. the god Mithra was identified with the Greek god Apollo, hence the name.

The asteroid measures 2-5 km in diameter. Its shape has been analyzed by radar, and has been revealed as bizarre: it is the most highly bifurcated object in the solar system, with two distinct lobes.

References

* [http://www.hohmanntransfer.com/cgi-bin/get.cgi Catchall Catalog of Minor Planets]
* [http://newton.dm.unipi.it/cgi-bin/neodys/neoibo?objects:Mithra NeoDys]
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