246 Asporina
3D model based on lightcurve data | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Alphonse Borrelly |
| Discovery date | 6 March 1885 |
| Designations | |
| (246) Asporina | |
Named after | Asporina |
| A885 EA | |
| Main belt | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 130.96 yr (47834 d) |
| Aphelion | 2.98941 AU (447.209 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 2.39768 AU (358.688 Gm) |
| 2.69355 AU (402.949 Gm) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.10984 |
| 4.42 yr (1614.7 d) | |
Average orbital speed | 18.14 km/s |
| 172.414° | |
| 0° 13m 22.638s / day | |
| Inclination | 15.6259° |
| 162.347° | |
| 96.6218° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 60.10±4.2 km |
| 16.222 h (0.6759 d) | |
| 0.1744±0.027 | |
| R | |
| 8.62 | |
246 Asporina is a sizeable main-belt asteroid. It is classified as one of the few A-type asteroids.
It was discovered by Alphonse Borrelly on 6 March 1885 in Marseille and was named after Asporina, a goddess worshipped on Mount Asporenus (or Aspordenus), Asia Minor. This location is known in the modern day as the Yunt Mountains, and Asporina is sometimes identified with the goddess Cybele.
The spectrum of 246 Asporina reveals the strong presence of the mineral olivine, a relative rarity in the asteroid belt.