56 Melete

56 Melete

Discovery
Discovered by	Hermann Mayer Salomon Goldschmidt
Discovery date	September 9, 1857
Designations
Named after	Melete
Alternate name(s)
Minor planet category	Main belt
Orbital characteristics
Epoch December 31, 2006 (JD 2454100.5)
Aphelion	480.683 Gm (3.213 AU)
Perihelion	295.717 Gm (1.977 AU)
Semi-major axis	388.200 Gm (2.595 AU)
Eccentricity	0.238
Orbital period	1526.839 d (4.18 a)
Average orbital speed	18.22 km/s
Mean anomaly	267.781°
Inclination	8.072°
Longitude of ascending node	193.478°
Argument of perihelion	103.648°
Proper orbital elements
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	113.2 km
Mass	1.5×1018 kg
Mean density	? g/cm³
Equatorial surface gravity	0.0316 m/s²
Escape velocity	0.0598 km/s
Rotation period	? d
Albedo	0.065 [1]
Temperature	~173 K
Spectral type	P
Absolute magnitude (H)	8.31

56 Melete ( /ˈmɛlɨtiː/ mel-i-tee) is a large and dark main belt asteroid. It is a rather unusual P-type asteroid, probably composed of organic rich silicates, carbon and anhydrous silicates, with possible internal water ice.

Melete was discovered by Hermann Goldschmidt from his balcony in Paris, on September 9, 1857. It orbit was computed by E. Schubert, who named it after Melete, the Muse of meditation in Greek mythology.^[2]

To date, two stellar occultations by Melete have been observed successfully (in 1997 and again in 2002).^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ Asteroid Data Sets
2. ^ Lutz D. Schmadel, Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, p.20.