29 Amphitrite ( , or as in ) is one of the largest
S-type asteroidS-type asteroids are of a siliceous composition, hence the name. Approximately 17% of asteroids are of this type, making it the second most common after the C-type.-Characteristics:...
s, probably third in diameter after
Eunomia15 Eunomia is a very large asteroid in the inner main asteroid belt. It is the largest of the stony asteroids, and somewhere between the 8th to 12th largest Main Belt asteroid overall...
and
JunoJuno , formal designation 3 Juno in the Minor Planet Center catalogue system, was the third asteroid to be discovered and is one of the larger main belt asteroids, being one of the two largest stony asteroids, along with 15 Eunomia. Juno is estimated to contain 1% of the total mass of the asteroid...
, although
Iris7 Iris is a large main belt asteroid. Among S-type asteroids it ranks fifth in geometric mean diameter after Eunomia, Juno, Amphitrite and Herculina....
and
Herculina532 Herculina is a very large asteroid, with a diameter of around 225 km.-Discovery:It was discovered on April 20, 1904, by Max Wolf in Heidelberg, and initially catalogued as 1904 NY. The origin of its name is not known; it may be named after the mythical Hercules, or after an unknown woman...
are similar in size.
Its orbit is less eccentric and inclined than those of its larger cousins Eunomia and Juno - being indeed the most circular of any asteroid discovered up to that point - and as a consequence it never becomes as bright as Iris or
Hebe6 Hebe is a large Main belt asteroid, containing around half a percent of the mass of the belt. Its apparently high bulk density , however, means that by volume it does not rank among the top twenty asteroids...
, 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 more usually is around the
binocular limitBinoculars, field glasses or binocular telescopes are a pair of identical or mirror-symmetrical telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point accurately in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes with binocular vision when viewing distant objects. Most are sized to be held...
of +9.5.
Amphitrite was discovered by
Albert MarthAlbert Marth was a German astronomer who worked in England and Ireland.He came to England in 1853 to work for George Bishop, a rich wine merchant and patron of astronomy. At that time, paid jobs in astronomy were quite rare....
on March 1, 1854. It was his only asteroid discovery. It is named after
AmphitriteIn ancient Greek mythology, Amphitrite was a sea-goddess. Under the influence of the Olympian pantheon, she became merely the consort of Poseidon, and was further diminished by poets to a symbolic representation of the sea...
, a sea goddess in
Greek mythologyGreek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
.
A
satelliteA natural satellite or moon is a celestial body that orbits a planet or smaller body, which is called the primary. Technically, the term natural satellite could refer to a planet orbiting a star, or a dwarf galaxy orbiting a major galaxy, but it is normally synonymous with moon and used to identify...
is suspected based on the lightcurve data.
Mass
In 2007, Baer and Chesley estimated Amphitrite to have a mass of 1.9 kg. A more recent estimate by Baer suggests it has a mass of 1.18 kg.
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