322 Phaeo is an
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 ...
from the central regions of the
asteroid belt
The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the Solar System, centered on the Sun and roughly spanning the space between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars. It contains a great many solid, irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids ...
, approximately in diameter. It was discovered on 27 November 1891, by French astronomer
Alphonse Borrelly at the
Marseille Observatory in southern France.
The presumably metallic
X-type asteroid
The X-group of asteroids collects together several types with similar spectra, but probably quite different compositions.
Tholen classification
In the Tholen classification, the X-group consists of the following types:
* E-type – with high ...
is the principal body of the
Phaeo family and has 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 17.6 hours. It was named for the
Greek mythological figure Phaeo, one of the
Hyades or
nymph
A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...
s. Several other asteroids were named for other of the Hyades –
193 Ambrosia,
158 Koronis,
217 Eudora, and
308 Polyxo.
[Lutz D. Schmadel, ''Dictionary of Minor Planet Names'', p. 42. Springer, .]
References
External links
Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB) query form
)
Dictionary of Minor Planet Names Google books
– Minor Planet Center
*
*
000322
Discoveries by Alphonse Borrelly
Named minor planets
000322
000322
18911127
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