137 Meliboea
Orbital diagram
Discovery[1]
Discovered byJ. Palisa
Discovery siteAustrian Naval Obs.
Discovery date21 April 1874
Designations
(137) Meliboea
Pronunciation/mɛlɪˈbiːə/[2]
Named after
Meliboea, daughter of Oceanus
A874 HA; 1923 FA;
1958 UE; 1962 GB
main-belt · (outer)
Meliboea[3]
AdjectivesMeliboean /mɛlɪˈbiːən/[4]
Orbital characteristics[5]
Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc133.02 yr (48,587 d)
Aphelion3.7859 AU
Perihelion2.4619 AU
3.1239 AU
Eccentricity0.2119
5.52 yr (2,017 d)
327.88°
0° 10m 42.6s / day
Inclination13.432°
202.22°
107.17°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
145.42±3.3 km[5]
145.92±3.58 km[6]
Mass(7.27±3.07)×1018 kg[6]
Mean density
4.46 ± 1.91 g/cm3[6]
25.676 h[7]
0.0503±0.002[5]
0.0492 ± 0.0128[8]
C (Tholen)[8]
8.05[5]
8.10[8]

137 Meliboea is a large, dark main-belt asteroid that was discovered by Austrian astronomer J. Palisa at the Austrian Naval Observatory on 21 April 1874, the second of his many asteroid discoveries. It was later named after Meliboea, the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys in Greek mythology.[9] The largest body in the Meliboea family of asteroids that share similar orbital elements, only 791 Ani approaches its size. It is classified as a C-type asteroid and may be composed of carbonaceous materials. The spectra of the asteroid displays evidence of aqueous alteration.[10]

Photometric observations of this asteroid made at the Torino Observatory in Italy during 1990–1991 were used to determine a synodic rotation period of 15.28 ± 0.02 hours.[11] A 2009 study at the Organ Mesa Observatory in Las Cruces, New Mexico found a period of 25.676 ± 0.001 hours and a brightness variation of 0.16 ± 0.02 in magnitude. They ruled out a period of 15 hours determined in previous studies.[7]

During 2002, 137 Meliboea was observed by radar from the Arecibo Observatory. The return signal matched an effective diameter of 144 ± 16 km. This is consistent with the asteroid dimensions computed through other means.[12]

References

  1. ^ "137 Meliboea". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  2. ^ Noah Webster (1884) A Practical Dictionary of the English Language
  3. ^ "Asteroid 137 Meliboea". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  4. ^ "melibœan". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  5. ^ a b c d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 137 Meliboea" (2018-04-28 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  6. ^ a b c Carry, B. (December 2012), "Density of asteroids", Planetary and Space Science, 73 (1): 98–118, arXiv:1203.4336, Bibcode:2012P&SS...73...98C, doi:10.1016/j.pss.2012.03.009. See Table 1.
  7. ^ a b Pilcher, Frederick; Jardine, Don (April 2009), "Period Determinations for 31 Euphrosyne, 35 Leukothea 56 Melete, 137 Meliboea, 155 Scylla, and 264 Libussa", The Minor Planet Bulletin, 36 (2): 52–54, Bibcode:2009MPBu...36...52P
  8. ^ a b c Pravec, P.; et al. (May 2012), "Absolute Magnitudes of Asteroids and a Revision of Asteroid Albedo Estimates from WISE Thermal Observations", Asteroids, Comets, Meteors 2012, Proceedings of the conference held May 16–20, 2012 in Niigata, Japan, vol. 1667, no. 1667, p. 6089, Bibcode:2012LPICo1667.6089P.
  9. ^ Schmadel, L. (2003:25). Dictionary of minor planet names. Germany: Springer.
  10. ^ Fornasier, S.; et al. (February 1999), "Spectroscopic comparison of aqueous altered asteroids with CM2 carbonaceous chondrite meteorites", Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement, 135: 65−73, Bibcode:1999A&AS..135...65F, doi:10.1051/aas:1999161.
  11. ^ di Martino, M.; et al. (February 1994), "Lightcurves and rotational periods of nine main belt asteroids", Icarus, 107 (2): 269–275, Bibcode:1994Icar..107..269D, doi:10.1006/icar.1994.1022.
  12. ^ Magri, Christopher; et al. (January 2007), "A radar survey of main-belt asteroids: Arecibo observations of 55 objects during 1999–2003", Icarus, 186 (1): 126–151, Bibcode:2007Icar..186..126M, doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2006.08.018

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