7 Iris

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This article is about the asteroid. For other meanings, see Iris (disambiguation).
7 Iris 7 Iris Astronomical Symbol.svg
7Iris-LB1-richfield-mag10.jpg
Star rich field showing asteroid Iris (apmag 10.1)
Discovery
Discovered by John Russell Hind
Discovery date August 13, 1847
Designations
Pronunciation /ˈaɪərᵻs/ YR-is
Named after
 Īris
none
Main belt
Adjectives Iridian /aɪˈrɪdiən/[1]
Orbital characteristics
Epoch November 26, 2005 (JD 2453700.5)
Aphelion 2.937 AU (439.337 Gm)
Perihelion 1.833 AU (274.259 Gm)
2.385 AU (356.798 Gm)
Eccentricity 0.231
3.68 a (1345.375 d)
19.03 km/s
269.531°
Inclination 5.527°
259.727°
145.440°
Proper orbital elements[2]
2.3862106 AU
0.2125516
6.3924857°
97.653672 deg / yr
3.6865 yr
(1346.493 d)
Precession of perihelion
 38.403324 arcsec / yr
Precession of the ascending node
 −46.447128 arcsec / yr
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 240×200×200 km[3]
225×190×190 km[4]
199.8 ± 10 km (IRAS)[5]
135 000 km2[6]
Volume 4 630 000 km3[6]
Mass 1.62 ± 0.09 ×1019 kg[3]
Mean density
 3.21 ± 0.49 g/cm³[3]
0.108 m/s²
0.147 km/s
0.2975 d[7]
Equatorial rotation velocity
 25.4 m/s[6]
Albedo 0.277 (geometric)
Temperature ~171 K
max: 275 K (+2°C)
Spectral type
 S-type asteroid
6.7[8][9] to 11.4
5.51
0.32" to 0.07"
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7 Iris is a large main-belt asteroid orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. It is the fourth brightest object in the asteroid belt. It is classified as an S-type asteroid, meaning that it has a stony composition.

Discovery and name

Iris was discovered on August 13, 1847, by J. R. Hind from London, UK. It was Hind's first asteroid discovery and the seventh asteroid to be discovered overall.

Iris was named after the rainbow goddess Iris in Greek mythology, who was a messenger to the gods, especially Hera. Her quality of attendant of Hera was particularly appropriate to the circumstances of discovery, as she was spotted following 3 Juno by less than an hour of right ascension (Juno is the Roman equivalent of Hera).

Characteristics

Size comparison: the first 10 asteroids profiled against Earth's Moon. Iris is fourth from the right.

Orbit

Iris regularly comes within 0.4AU of Mars and will next do so on November 2, 2054.[10]

Geology

Iris is an S-type asteroid. Its surface likely exhibits albedo differences, with possibly a large bright area in the northern hemisphere.[11] Overall the surface is very bright and is probably a mixture nickel-iron metals and magnesium- and iron-silicates. Its spectrum is similar to that of L and LL chondrites with corrections for space weathering,[12] so it may be an important contributor of these meteorites. Planetary dynamics also indicates that it should be a significant source of meteorites.[13]

Among the S-type asteroids, Iris ranks fifth in geometric mean diameter after Eunomia, Juno, Amphitrite and Herculina.

Brightness

Iris's bright surface and small distance from the Sun make it the fourth brightest object in the asteroid belt after Vesta, Ceres, and Pallas. It has a mean opposition magnitude of +7.8, comparable to that of Neptune, and can easily be seen with binoculars at most oppositions. At typical oppositions it marginally outshines the larger though darker Pallas.[14] But at rare oppositions near perihelion Iris can reach a magnitude of +6.7 (next time on October 31, 2017 reaching a magnitude of +6.9),[8] which is as bright as Ceres ever gets.

Rotation

Lightcurve analysis indicates a somewhat angular shape and that Iris's pole points towards the ecliptic coordinates (β, λ) = (10°, 20°) with a 10° uncertainty.[4] This gives an axial tilt of 85°, so that on almost a whole hemisphere of Iris, the sun does not set during summer, and does not rise during winter. On an airless body this gives rise to very large temperature differences.

Observations

The orbit of 7 Iris compared with the orbits of Earth, Mars and Jupiter

Iris was observed occulting a star on May 26, 1995, and later on July 25, 1997. Both observations gave a diameter of about 200 km.

See also

References

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External links

  1. ↑ Oxford English Dictionary
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Calculated based on the known parameters
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Y. Ueda et al. Surface Material Analysis of the S-type Asteroids: Removing the Space Weathering Effect from Reflectance Spectrum, 34th Annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, March 17–21, 2003, League City, Texas, abstract no.2078 (2003).
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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