44 Nysa

44 Nysa

Discovery
Discovered by	H. Goldschmidt
Discovery date	May 27, 1857
Designations
Alternate name(s)	1977 CE
Minor planet category	Main belt (Nysa)
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 2008-05-14 (JD 2454600.5)
Aphelion	2.7829123518 ± 3.6627e-09 AU
Perihelion	2.06469721 ± 1.3862e-07 AU
Semi-major axis	2.4238047855 ± 3.1901e-09 AU
Eccentricity	.148158617 ± 5.7499e-08
Orbital period	3.77 ± 7.45e-09 a
Average orbital speed	19.13 km/s
Mean anomaly	118.743236 ± 2.4281e-05°
Inclination	3.7028885 ± 6.2628e-06°
Longitude of ascending node	131.59519 ± 1.0657e-04°
Argument of perihelion	342.52066 ± 1.0904e-04°
Proper orbital elements
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	113 ± 10 × 67 ± 10 × 65 ± 12 km[2]
Mass	3.7×1017 kg
Mean density	2.0 g/cm³
Equatorial surface gravity	0.0197 m/s²
Escape velocity	0.0373 km/s
Rotation period	6.421417 ± 0.000001 h[3]
Pole ecliptic latitude	+58 ± 3°[3]
Pole ecliptic longitude	98 ± 2°[3]
Albedo	0.44 ± 0.10 (vis.)[2] 0.19 ± 0.06 (rad.)[2]
Temperature	~151 K
Spectral type	E[3]
Apparent magnitude	8.83 to 12.46
Absolute magnitude (H)	7.03[1]
Angular diameter	0.09" to 0.026"

44 Nysa ( /ˈnaɪsə/) is a large and very bright main-belt asteroid, and the brightest member of the Nysian asteroid family. It is classified as a rare class E asteroid and is probably the largest of this type (though 55 Pandora is only slightly smaller).

Discovery

It was discovered by H. Goldschmidt on May 27, 1857, and named after the mythical land of Nysa in Greek mythology.

Physical properties

In 2002 Kaasalainen et al. used 63 lightcurves from the Uppsala Asteroid Photometric Catalog (UAPC) to construct a shape model of 44 Nysa. The shape model is conical, which they interpreted as indicating the asteroid may actually be a contact binary.^[3]

In 2003, Tanga et al. published results obtained from the Fine Guidance Sensor on the Hubble Space Telescope in which high-precision interferometry was performed on Nysa with the goal of a more accurate shape determination. Due to Hubble's orbit around the Earth, hours-long photometry sessions, as are normally used to resolve the asteroid's shape, were not possible. Instead the team used interferometry on the asteroid at the time in its rotation when it would have its longest axis perpendicular to the Earth. Ellipsoidal shape models were then fit to the resulting data to determine an estimate of the asteroid's shape. Both single and double ellipsoid models were fit to the data with both providing approximately the same goodness of fit; leaving the team unable to differentiate between a single elongated object and the contact binary model put forth by Kaasalainen et al.^[4]

In December 2006, Shepard et al. performed three days of radar observations on Nysa with the Arecibo radio telescope. The asteroid was found to have a high radar polarization value (μ_c) of 0.50 ± 0.2, a radar albedo ($\hat{\sigma}_{OC}$) of 0.19 ± 0.06, and a visual albedo (p_v) of 0.44 ± 0.10.^[2] The albedo measurements were based on a shape model worked out at Arecibo. The best fit shape model as measured by the Arecibo team has parameters a/b = 1.7 ± 0.1, a/c = 1.6–1.9, with an a-axis of 113 ± 10 km; this gives an effective diameter of 79 ± 10 km, which is in agreement with the HST study by Tanga et al. in 2003.^[2] The data gathered also showed signs of significant concavity in Nysa's structure, but the dip in the radar curves is not pronounced enough to indicate bifurcation, calling into question whether or not Nysa really is a contact binary.^[2]

Nysa has so far been reported occulting a star twice.

See also

• Aubrite
• E-type asteroid
• Hungaria family
• 64 Angelina
• 3103 Eger
• 55 Pandora
• 2867 Šteins

References

1. ^ ^{a b} NASA JPL Small-Body Database Browser on 44 Nysa
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Shepard, M.; et al. (May 2008). "Radar observations of E-class Asteroids 44 Nysa and 434 Hungaria". Icarus 195 (1): 220–225. Bibcode 2008Icar..195..220S. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2007.12.018. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} Kaasalainen, M.; Torppa, J.; Piironen, J. (March 2002). "Binary structures among large asteroids". Astronomy and Astrophysics 383 (3): L19–L22. Bibcode 2002A&A...383L..19K. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20020015. 
4. ^ Tanga, P.; et al. (April 2003). "Asteroid observations with the Hubble Space Telescope. II. Duplicity search and size measurements for 6 asteroids". Astronomy and Astrophysics 401 (2): 733–741. Bibcode 2003A&A...401..733T. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20030032. 

Further reading

• Harris, A.W.; et al. (October 1989). "Phase relations of high albedo asteroids: The unusual opposition brightening of 44 Nysa and 64 Angelina". Icarus 81 (2): 365–374. Bibcode 1989Icar...81..365H. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(89)90057-2. 

External links

• NASA JPL Small-Body Database Browser on 44 Nysa