29 Amphitrite is one of the largest

S-type asteroid S-type (stony-type or silicaceous-type) asteroids are asteroids with a spectral type that is indicative of a siliceous (i.e. stony) mineralogical composition, hence the name. They have relatively high density. Approximately 17% of asteroids are ...

s, approximately in diameter, and probably fifth largest after Eunomia,

Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods * ''Juno'' (film), the 2007 film Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, a character in the book ''Juno of ...

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (given name), a feminine given name, and a list of peopl ...

and Herculina.

Discovery

Amphitrite was discovered by

Albert Marth Albert Marth (5 May 1828 – 6 August 1897) was a German astronomer who worked in United Kingdom, Britain and Ireland. Life After studying theology at the University of Berlin, his interest in astronomy and mathematics led him to study astro ...

on 1 March 1854, at the private South Villa Observatory, in

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London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. It was Marth's only asteroid discovery. Its name was chosen by George Bishop, the owner of the observatory, who named it after

Amphitrite In ancient Greek mythology, Amphitrite (; ) was the goddess of the sea, the queen of the sea, and her consort is Poseidon. She was a daughter of Nereus and Doris (or Oceanus and Tethys).Roman, L., & Roman, M. (2010). Under the influence ...

, a sea goddess in

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

. Its historical symbol was a shell and star; it is in the pipeline for

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17.0 as U+1CECF 𜻏 ().

Characteristics

Amphitrite's orbit is less eccentric and inclined than those of its larger cousins; indeed, it is the most circular of any asteroid discovered up to that point. As a consequence, it never becomes as bright as Iris or Hebe, especially as it is much further from the Sun than those asteroids. It can reach magnitudes of around +8.6 at a favorable opposition, but usually is around the binocular limit of +9.5. In 2007, James Baer and Steven R. Chesley estimated Amphitrite to have a mass of 1.9 kg. A 2008 estimate by Baer suggests it has a mass of 1.18 kg. A

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

of the asteroid is suspected to exist, based on lightcurve data collected by Edward F. Tedesco. In 1988 a search for satellites or dust orbiting this asteroid was performed using the UH88 telescope at the

Mauna Kea Observatories The Mauna Kea Observatories (MKO) are a group of independent astronomical research facilities and large telescope observatories that are located at the summit of Mauna Kea on Hawaii (island), Hawaiʻi, United States. The facilities are located i ...

, but neither were found.

Proposed exploration

In 1984, while determining the ''

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...

'' mission's prelaunch trajectory to

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

, JPL engineers found out that if the spacecraft launched on May 1986, it could perform a flyby of 29 Amphitrite at a distance of on December 6, 1986. However, with the ''Challenger'' disaster delaying the launch to October 1989, the flyby was ultimately cancelled.

Notes

References

External links

Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000)
– Minor Planet Center * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Amphitrite 000029 Discoveries by Albert Marth Named minor planets 000029 000029 18540301