94 Aurora

Aurora (minor planet designation: 94 Aurora) is one of the largest main-belt asteroids. With an albedo of only 0.04, it is darker than soot, and has a primitive composition consisting of carbonaceous material. It was discovered by J. C. Watson on September 6, 1867, in Ann Arbor, and named after Aurora, the Roman goddess of the dawn.

94 Aurora
A three-dimensional model of 94 Aurora based on its light curve.
Discovery
Discovered byJames Craig Watson
Discovery date6 September 1867
Designations
(94) Aurora
Pronunciation/əˈrɔːrə, ɒ-/[1]
Named after
Aurōra
Main belt
AdjectivesAurorean /ɔːˈrɔːriən/[2]
Orbital characteristics[3]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc143.72 yr (52494 d)
Aphelion3.45175 AU (516.374 Gm)
Perihelion2.86831 AU (429.093 Gm)
3.16003 AU (472.734 Gm)
Eccentricity0.092315
5.62 yr (2051.8 d)
16.73 km/s
132.718°
0° 10m 31.638s / day
Inclination7.97343°
2.59859°
60.8260°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions204.89±3.6 km (IRAS)[3]
225×173 km[4]
Mass(6.23 ± 3.64) × 1018 kg[5]
Mean density
1.83 ± 1.10[5] g/cm3
Equatorial surface gravity
0.0573 m/s²
Equatorial escape velocity
0.1083 km/s
7.22 h (0.301 d)[3]
0.0395±0.001[3]
0.0395[6]
Temperature~157 K
C[3]
7.57[3]

    This asteroid is orbiting the Sun with a period of 5.62 years and a relatively low eccentricity of 0.092. It is spinning with a rotation period of 7.22 hours. Observations of an occultation using nine chords indicate an oval outline of 225×173 km.[4] The asteroid's pole of rotation lies just 4–16° away from the plane of the ecliptic.[7]

    References
    1. "aurora". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
    2. "aurorean". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
      But see 'aurora' for the first vowel.
    3. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 94 Aurora" (2008-11-09 last obs). Retrieved 13 May 2016.
    4. "Occultation of TYC 6910-01938-1 by (94) Aurora - 2001 October 12". Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand. Retrieved 30 November 2008. (Chords) Archived 2008-10-21 at the Wayback Machine
    5. 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.
    6. Asteroid Data Sets Archived 2009-12-17 at the Wayback Machine
    7. Marciniak, A.; et al. (May 2011), "Photometry and models of selected main belt asteroids. VIII. Low-pole asteroids", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 529: 14, Bibcode:2011A&A...529A.107M, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201015365, A107

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