679 Pax

679 Pax
A three-dimensional model of 679 Pax based on its light curve
Discovery
Discovered by August Kopff
Discovery site Heidelberg
Discovery date 28 January 1909
Designations
MPC designation (679) Pax
1909 FY
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 106.90 yr (39044 d)
Aphelion 3.3910 AU (507.29 Gm)
Perihelion 1.7808 AU (266.40 Gm)
2.5859 AU (386.85 Gm)
Eccentricity 0.31135
4.16 yr (1518.8 d)
33.4022°
0° 14m 13.272s / day
Inclination 24.387°
112.263°
266.736°
Physical characteristics
Mean radius
 25.735±1.2 km[1]
32.44 ± 1.82 km[2]
Mass (7.14 ± 1.99) × 1017 kg[2]
Mean density
 4.99 ± 1.62 g/cm3[2]
8.452 h (0.3522 d)
0.1660±0.017
9.01

    679 Pax is a minor planet orbiting the Sun that was discovered by German astronomer August Kopff on January 28, 1909. It is named after Pax, a Roman goddess.

    Measurements using the adaptive optics at the W. M. Keck Observatory give a mean diameter of 62 km. This is 16% larger than the diameter estimated using the IRAS observatory. The asteroid is elongated with a size ratio of 1.66 ± 0.23 between the major and minor axes. Photometric measurements reported in 1982 gave a rotation period of 8.452 hours.[3]

    Polarimetric study of this asteroid reveals anomalous properties that suggests the regolith consists of a mixture of low and high albedo material. This may have been caused by fragmentation of an asteroid substrate with the spectral properties of CO3/CV3 carbonaceous chondrites.[4]

    References

    1. 1 2 Yeomans, Donald K., "679 Pax", JPL Small-Body Database Browser, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, retrieved 7 May 2016.
    2. 1 2 3 Carry, B. (December 2012), "Density of asteroids", Planetary and Space Science, 73, pp. 98–118, arXiv:1203.4336, Bibcode:2012P&SS...73...98C, doi:10.1016/j.pss.2012.03.009. See Table 1.
    3. ↑ Marchis, F.; et al. (November 2006), "Shape, size and multiplicity of main-belt asteroids. I. Keck Adaptive Optics survey", Icarus, 185 (1), pp. 39–63, Bibcode:2006Icar..185...39M, doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2006.06.001, PMC 2600456, PMID 19081813, retrieved 2013-03-27.
    4. ↑ Gil-Hutton, R.; et al. (April 2008), "New cases of unusual polarimetric behavior in asteroids", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 482 (1), pp. 309–314, Bibcode:2008A&A...482..309G, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20078965.


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