81 Terpsichore is a large and very dark
main-belt asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...
. It has most probably a very primitive
carbonaceous composition. It was found by the prolific
comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma surrounding ...
discoverer
Ernst Tempel on September 30, 1864.
[ It is named after Terpsichore, the ]Muse
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...
of dance
Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
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 ...
.
Photometric observations of the minor planet in 2011 gave a rotation period
In astronomy, the rotation period or spin period of a celestial object (e.g., star, planet, moon, asteroid) has two definitions. The first one corresponds to the '' sidereal rotation period'' (or ''sidereal day''), i.e., the time that the objec ...
of with an amplitude of in magnitude. This result is consistent with previous determinations.[ Two stellar occultation events involving this asteroid were observed from multiple sites in 2009. The resulting chords matched a smooth elliptical cross-section with dimensions of × .][
]
In popular culture
A space station orbiting 81 Terpsichore is the main setting in the science fiction story The Dark Colony (Asteroid Police Book 1) by Richard Penn.
References
External links
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Terpsichore asteroids
Terpsichore
Terpsichore
C-type asteroids (Tholen)
Cb-type asteroids (SMASS)
18640930
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