Astronomy:7066 Nessus

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7066 Nessus Nessus symbol (bold).svg (astrological)
7066 Nessus Hubble.jpg
Hubble Space Telescope image of Nessus taken in 2009
Discovery[2]
Discovered bySpacewatch
(D. Rabinowitz uncredited)[1]
Discovery siteKitt Peak National Obs.
Discovery date26 April 1993
Designations
(7066) Nessus
Pronunciation/ˈnɛsəs/[6]
Named afterΝέσσος Nessos (Greek mythology)[2]
1993 HA2
Minor planet categorycentaur [3][4][5] · distant [2]
AdjectivesNessian /ˈnɛsiən/[7]
Orbital characteristics[3]
Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 3
Observation arc11.08 yr (4,048 d)
|{{{apsis}}}|helion}}37.423 AU
|{{{apsis}}}|helion}}11.854 AU
24.639 AU
Eccentricity0.5189
Orbital period122.30 yr (44,670 d)
Mean anomaly80.046°
Mean motion0° 0m 29.16s / day
Inclination15.663°
Longitude of ascending node31.183°
170.96°
Jupiter MOID6.400 AU
TJupiter3.793
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter57±17 km[8]
60±16 km[4][9]
Geometric albedo0.065[4][9]
0.086[8]
RR (very red)[10]
B–V = 1.090±0.010[10]
V–R = 0.790±0.010[10]
V–I = 1.470±0.030[10]
B–R = 1.847[11]
Apparent magnitude24.31[12]
Absolute magnitude (H)9.55[13][14]
9.6[2][3]


7066 Nessus /ˈnɛsəs/ is a very red centaur on an eccentric orbit, located beyond Saturn in the outer Solar System. It was discovered on 26 April 1993, by astronomers of the Spacewatch program at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson, Arizona.[2] The dark and reddish minor planet is likely elongated and measures approximately 60 kilometers (37 miles) in diameter.[4][13] It was named after Nessus from Greek mythology.[2]

Orbit and classification

Nessus is a centaur, a dynamically unstable population of minor planets between the classical asteroids and the trans-Neptunian objects. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 11.9–37.4 AU once every 122 years and 4 months (44,670 days; semi-major axis of 24.64 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.52 and an inclination of 16° with respect to the ecliptic. At its perihelion (11.9 AU), it moves much closer to the Sun than Uranus (19.2 AU) but not as close as Saturn (9.6 AU), while at its aphelion (37.4 AU), it moves out well beyond the orbit of Neptune (30.1 AU).[3]

The orbits of centaurs are unstable due to perturbations by the giant planets. Nessus is an "SE object" because currently Saturn controls its perihelion and its aphelion is within the Kuiper belt. It is estimated to have a relatively long orbital half-life of about 4.9 million years.[15] Fifty clones of the orbit of Nessus suggest that it will not pass within 1 AU (or 150 million kilometers) of any planet for at least 20,000 years.[16]

Discovery and naming

Nessus was discovered by David Rabinowitz (not officially credited), working with the Spacewatch program, at Kitt Peak National Observatory on 26 April 1993.[2][1] The discovery was announced on 13 May 1993 in an IAU Circular (IAUC 5789) of the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams.[1] It was the third discovery of a centaur after 2060 Chiron and 5145 Pholus, discovered by Charles Kowal and David Rabinowitz in 1977 and 1992, respectively.[17] The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Kitt Peak in April 1993.[2]

This minor planet was named after Nessus, a centaur from Greek mythology, who poisoned and was killed by the divine hero Heracles.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 22 April 1997 (M.P.C. 29671).[18]

A symbol derived from that for 2060 Chiron, U+2BDC ⯜ NESSUS (x14px), was devised in the late 1990s by German astrologer Robert von Heeren. It replaces Chiron's K with an N for Nessus.[19]

Physical characteristics

Nessus has a very red color (RR),[10] with a B–R magnitude of 1.847 and 1.88, respectively.[4][11] Color indices were also determined by Bauer (2003) and Hainaut (2002, 2012).[5][20][21][22]

Rotation period

As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve of Nessus has been obtained from photometric observations. However, a brightness variation of 0.5 magnitude was measured in the 1990s, indicating that the body has a non-spherical, elongated shape.[14] The body's rotation period and pole remain unknown.[3][13]

Diameter and albedo

According to the Herschel Space Observatory with its PACS instrument, Nessus measures 57 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.086,[8] while infrared observations with the Spitzer Space Telescope gave a diameter of 60 kilometers with an albedo of 0.065.[9] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a carbonaceous standard albedo of 0.057 and derives a diameter of 68.48 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 9.55.[13]

In popular culture

7066 Nessus is a playable destination in the 2017 video game Destiny 2, after previously being referenced in the series' 2014 debut entry Destiny. Known simply as "Nessus," it is described as a planetoid that has been terraformed by a cybernetic species known as the Vex into a "machine world."[23]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "IAUC 5789: 1993 HA2". Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. 13 May 1993. http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/iauc/05700/05789.html. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 "7066 Nessus (1993 HA2)". Minor Planet Center. https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=7066. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 7066 Nessus (1993 HA2)". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2007066. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Johnston, Wm. Robert (7 October 2018). "List of Known Trans-Neptunian Objects". Johnston's Archive. http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/astro/tnoslist.html. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Asteroid 7066 Nessus". Small Bodies Data Ferret. https://sbntools.psi.edu/ferret/SimpleSearch/results.action?targetName=7066+Nessus. 
  6. ↑ Nessus (3rd ed.), Oxford University Press, September 2005, http://oed.com/search?searchType=dictionary&q=Nessus  (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  7. ↑ Lamb (1836) Elia
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Duffard, R.; Pinilla-Alonso, N.; Santos-Sanz, P.; Vilenius, E.; Ortiz, J. L.; Mueller, T. et al. (April 2014). ""TNOs are Cool": A survey of the trans-Neptunian region. XI. A Herschel-PACS view of 16 Centaurs". Astronomy and Astrophysics 564: 17. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201322377. Bibcode: 2014A&A...564A..92D. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 John Stansberry; Will Grundy; Mike Brown; Dale Cruikshank; John Spencer; David Trilling; Jean-Luc Margot (2007). Physical Properties of Kuiper Belt and Centaur Objects: Constraints from Spitzer Space Telescope. Bibcode: 2008ssbn.book..161S. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Belskaya, Irina N.; Barucci, Maria A.; Fulchignoni, Marcello; Dovgopol, Anatolij N. (April 2015). "Updated taxonomy of trans-neptunian objects and centaurs: Influence of albedo". Icarus 250: 482–491. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2014.12.004. Bibcode: 2015Icar..250..482B. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Peixinho, N.; Delsanti, A.; Guilbert-Lepoutre, A.; Gafeira, R.; Lacerda, P. (October 2012). "The bimodal colors of Centaurs and small Kuiper belt objects". Astronomy and Astrophysics 546: 12. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201219057. Bibcode: 2012A&A...546A..86P. 
  12. ↑ "Asteroid (7066) Nessus". AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site; Department of Mathematics, University of Pisa, Italy. https://newton.spacedys.com/astdys/index.php?pc=1.1.0&n=7066. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 "LCDB Data for (7066) Nessus". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). http://www.minorplanet.info/PHP/generateOneAsteroidInfo.php?AstInfo=7066%7CNessus. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Davies, John K.; McBride, Neil; Ellison, Sara L.; Green, Simon F.; Ballantyne, David R. (August 1998). "Visible and Infrared Photometry of Six Centaurs". Icarus 134 (2): 213–227. doi:10.1006/icar.1998.5931. Bibcode: 1998Icar..134..213D. 
  15. ↑ Horner, J.; Evans, N. W.; Bailey, M. E. (November 2004). "Simulations of the population of Centaurs - I. The bulk statistics". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 354 (3): 798–810. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2004.08240.x. Bibcode: 2004MNRAS.354..798H. 
  16. ↑ "Fifty clones of Centaur 7066 Nessus making passes within 150Gm". http://home.surewest.net/kheider/astro/NessusClones.txt. 
    "The SOLEX page". http://chemistry.unina.it/~alvitagl/solex/. 
  17. ↑ "The third Centaur Nessus". http://www.kentauren.info/menu/index.htm?page=/newness.htm. 
  18. ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html. 
  19. ↑ Miller, Kirk; Stein, Zane (26 August 2021). "Comment on U+26B7 CHIRON". https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2021/21225-chiron-comment.pdf. 
  20. ↑ Bauer, James M.; Meech, Karen J.; Fernández, Yanga R.; Pittichova, Jana; Hainaut, Olivier R.; Boehnhardt, Hermann et al. (November 2003). "Physical survey of 24 Centaurs with visible photometry". Icarus 166 (1): 195–211. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2003.07.004. Bibcode: 2003Icar..166..195B. 
  21. ↑ Hainaut, O. R.; Delsanti, A. C. (July 2002). "Colors of Minor Bodies in the Outer Solar System. A statistical analysis". Astronomy and Astrophysics 389: 641–664. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20020431. Bibcode: 2002A&A...389..641H. 
  22. ↑ Hainaut, O. R.; Boehnhardt, H.; Protopapa, S. (October 2012). "Colours of minor bodies in the outer solar system. II. A statistical analysis revisited". Astronomy and Astrophysics 546: 20. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201219566. Bibcode: 2012A&A...546A.115H. 
  23. ↑ "Destiny 2's new planet Nessus is on a visiting orbit with a "limited window" (and it's real)". https://www.gamesradar.com/destiny-2s-new-planet-nessus-is-on-a-visiting-orbit-with-a-limited-window-and-its-real/. 

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