171 Ophelia is a large, dark Themistian asteroid[5] that was discovered by French astronomer Alphonse Borrelly on 13 January 1877, and named after Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet.[6]

171 Ophelia
3D convex shape model of 171 Ophelia
Discovery
Discovered byA. Borrelly
Discovery date13 January 1877
Designations
(171) Ophelia
Pronunciation/ˈfliə/[1]
A877 AB
Main belt (Themis)
AdjectivesOphelian /ɒˈfliən/[2]
Orbital characteristics[3]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc122.15 yr (44615 d)
Aphelion3.5476 AU (530.71 Gm)
Perihelion2.7175 AU (406.53 Gm)
3.1326 AU (468.63 Gm)
Eccentricity0.13249
5.54 yr (2025.1 d)
11.164°
0° 10m 39.972s / day
Inclination2.5461°
100.52°
56.849°
Physical characteristics
130.808±1.483 km[3]
Mass(1.064 ± 0.535/0.351)×1018 kg[4]
Mean density
1.755 ± 0.883/0.579 g/cm3[4][a]
6.66535 h (0.277723 d)
0.0615±0.004
C
8.31

This asteroid is a member of the Themis family of asteroids that share similar orbital elements.[7] It probably has a primitive composition, similar to that of the carbonaceous chondrite meteorites.

A 1979 study of the Algol-like light curve produced by this asteroid concluded that it was possible to model the brightness variation by assuming a binary system with a circular orbit, a period of 13.146 hours, and an inclination of 15° to the line of sight from the Earth.[8] Photometric observations of this asteroid at the Leura Observatory in Leura, Australia during 2006 gave a rotation period of 6.6666 ± 0.0002 hours and a brightness variation of 0.50 ± 0.02 in magnitude. This is in agreement with previous studies.[9]

Ophelia is also the name of a moon of Uranus.

Notes

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  1. ^ Assuming a diameter of 105.01 ± 3.54 km.

References

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  1. ^ Benjamin Smith (1903) The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
  2. ^ "Ophelian". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  3. ^ a b Yeomans, Donald K., "171 Ophelia", JPL Small-Body Database Browser, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, retrieved 6 May 2016.
  4. ^ a b Fienga, A.; Avdellidou, C.; Hanuš, J. (February 2020). "Asteroid masses obtained with INPOP planetary ephemerides". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 492 (1). doi:10.1093/mnras/stz3407.
  5. ^ Florczak, M.; et al. (February 1999). "A spectroscopic study of the THEMIS family". Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement. 134 (3): 463–471. Bibcode:1999A&AS..134..463F. doi:10.1051/aas:1999150.
  6. ^ Schmadel, Lutz (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 30. ISBN 9783540002383. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  7. ^ Moore, Patrick; Rees, Robin, eds. (2011), Patrick Moore's Data Book of Astronomy (2nd ed.), Cambridge University Press, p. 165, ISBN 9781139495226.
  8. ^ Wijesinghe, M. P.; Tedesco, E. F. (December 1979), "A test of plausibility of eclipsing binary asteroids", Icarus, 40 (3): 383–393, Bibcode:1979Icar...40..383W, doi:10.1016/0019-1035(79)90031-9.
  9. ^ Oey, Julian (December 2006), "Lightcurves analysis of 10 asteroids from Leura Observatory", The Minor Planet Bulletin, 33 (4): 96–99, Bibcode:2006MPBu...33...96O.
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