679 Pax is a minor planet orbiting the Sun that was discovered by German astronomer August Kopff on January 28, 1909. It is named after Pax, a Roman goddess. It is orbiting the Sun with a period of 4.16 years and an eccentricity of 0.31.
Measurements using the adaptive optics at the W. M. Keck Observatory give a mean diameter of 62 km. This is 16% larger than the diameter estimated using the IRAS observatory. The asteroid is elongated with a size ratio of 1.66 ± 0.23 between the major and minor axes. Photometric measurements reported in 1982 gave a rotation period of 8.452 hours.[4] The asteroid's pole of rotation lies 32° away from the plane of the ecliptic.[5]
Polarimetric study of this asteroid reveals anomalous properties that suggests the regolith consists of a mixture of low and high albedo material. This may have been caused by fragmentation of an asteroid substrate with the spectral properties of CO3/CV3 carbonaceous chondrites.[6]
See also
References
- ^ "Pax". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- ^ a b Yeomans, Donald K., "679 Pax", JPL Small-Body Database Browser, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, retrieved 7 May 2016.
- ^ a b c Carry, B. (December 2012), "Density of asteroids", Planetary and Space Science, vol. 73, pp. 98–118, arXiv:1203.4336, Bibcode:2012P&SS...73...98C, doi:10.1016/j.pss.2012.03.009. See Table 1.
- ^ Marchis, F.; et al. (November 2006), "Shape, size and multiplicity of main-belt asteroids. I. Keck Adaptive Optics survey", Icarus, vol. 185, no. 1, pp. 39–63, Bibcode:2006Icar..185...39M, doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2006.06.001, PMC 2600456, PMID 19081813, retrieved 27 March 2013.
- ^ Marciniak, A.; et al. (May 2011), "Photometry and models of selected main belt asteroids. VIII. Low-pole asteroids", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 529: 14, Bibcode:2011A&A...529A.107M, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201015365, A107
- ^ Gil-Hutton, R.; et al. (April 2008), "New cases of unusual polarimetric behavior in asteroids", Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 482, no. 1, pp. 309–314, Bibcode:2008A&A...482..309G, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20078965.
External links
- 679 Pax at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
- 679 Pax at the JPL Small-Body Database
