Astronomy:5476 Mulius

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5476 Mulius
Discovery[1]
Discovered byS. J. Bus
Discovery siteCTIO
Discovery date2 October 1989
Designations
(5476) Mulius
Named afterMulius
(Greek mythology)[1][2]
1989 TO11 · 1990 UW13
Minor planet categoryJupiter trojan[1][3]
Trojan[4] · background[5]
Orbital characteristics[3]
Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc65.65 yr (23,980 d)
|{{{apsis}}}|helion}}5.4814 AU
|{{{apsis}}}|helion}}4.7357 AU
5.1086 AU
Eccentricity0.0730
Orbital period11.55 yr (4,217 d)
Mean anomaly235.27°
Mean motion0° 5m 7.44s / day
Inclination13.704°
Longitude of ascending node198.55°
95.356°
Jupiter MOID0.1169 AU
TJupiter2.9390
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter35.10±0.47 km[6]
Rotation period5.780±0.001 h[7]
Geometric albedo0.099±0.019[6]
C(assumed)[8]
Absolute magnitude (H)10.4[6]
10.6[1][3][8]


5476 Mulius, provisional designation: 1989 TO11 is a mid-sized Jupiter trojan from the Trojan camp, approximately 35 kilometers (22 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 2 October 1989, by American astronomer Schelte Bus at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile.[1] The dark Jovian asteroid has a rotation period of 5.8 hours. It was numbered in March 1993. In November 2021, it was named after the Trojan warrior Mulius, who was killed by Achilles during the Trojan War, according to Greek mythology.[9]

Classification and orbit

Mulius is a Jupiter trojan which stays in a 1:1 orbital resonance with Jupiter. It is located in the trailering Trojan camp at the Gas Giant's L5 Lagrangian point, 60° behind its orbit (see Trojans in astronomy).[4] It is also a non-family asteroid of the Jovian background population.[5]

It orbits the Sun at a distance of 4.7–5.5 AU once every 11 years and 7 months (4,217 days; semi-major axis of 5.11 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.07 and an inclination of 14° with respect to the ecliptic.[3] The asteroid was first observed at Palomar Observatory in August 1952. One year later, the body's observation arc begins at Palomar in August 1953, or more than 36 years prior to its official discovery observation at Cerro Tololo.[1]

Numbering and naming

This minor planet was numbered by the Minor Planet Center on 8 March 1993 (M.P.C. 21774).[9] On 29 November 2021, IAU's Working Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature named it from Greek mythology after Trojan warrior Mulius, who was killed during the Trojan War by Achilles who drove his javelin through one ear and out the other of Mulius' head.[1][2]

Physical characteristics

Mulius is an assumed C-type asteroid.[8] Jovian asteroids are typically D-types, with the remainder being mostly carbonaceous C- and primitive P-type asteroids.

Rotation period

Four nights of photometric observations of this asteroid were used to build a lightcurve showing a rotation period of 5.780±0.001 hours with a brightness variation of 0.30 magnitude. The well-defined lightcurve was obtained during February 1994 by Stefano Mottola and Anders Erikson using the ESO 1-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile ({{{1}}}).[7][8]

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures 35.1 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.099,[6] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for a carbonaceous asteroid of 0.057 and calculates a larger diameter of 42.2 kilometers.[8]

100+ largest Jupiter trojans

References

  1. Jump up to: 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "(5476) Mulius". Minor Planet Center. https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=5476. 
  2. Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 "WGSBN Bulletin Archive". Working Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature. 29 November 2021. https://www.wgsbn-iau.org/files/Bulletins/index.html.  (Bulletin #12)
  3. Jump up to: 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 5476 Mulius". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2005476. 
  4. Jump up to: 4.0 4.1 "List of Jupiter Trojans". Minor Planet Center. 1 June 2018. https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/lists/JupiterTrojans.html. 
  5. Jump up to: 5.0 5.1 "Asteroid (5476) 1989 TO11 – Proper Elements". AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site. https://newton.spacedys.com/astdys/index.php?n=5476&pc=1.1.6. 
  6. Jump up to: 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Grav, T.; Mainzer, A. K.; Bauer, J. M.; Masiero, J. R.; Nugent, C. R. (November 2012). "WISE/NEOWISE Observations of the Jovian Trojan Population: Taxonomy". The Astrophysical Journal 759 (1): 10. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/759/1/49. Bibcode2012ApJ...759...49G.  (online catalog)
  7. Jump up to: 7.0 7.1 Mottola, Stefano; Di Martino, Mario; Erikson, Anders; Gonano-Beurer, Maria; Carbognani, Albino; Carsenty, Uri et al. (May 2011). "Rotational Properties of Jupiter Trojans. I. Light Curves of 80 Objects". The Astronomical Journal 141 (5): 32. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/141/5/170. Bibcode2011AJ....141..170M. 
  8. Jump up to: 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 "LCDB Data for (5476)". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). http://www.minorplanet.info/PHP/generateOneAsteroidInfo.php?AstInfo=5476%7C. 
  9. Jump up to: 9.0 9.1 "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html. 

External links