55 Pandora

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55 Pandora
55Pandora (Lightcurve Inversion).png
Light curve–based 3D model of Pandora
Discovery
Discovered by George Mary Searle
Discovery site Albany, New York
Discovery dateSeptember 10, 1858
Designations
(55) Pandora
Pronunciation /pænˈdɔːrə/ [1]
Named after
 Pandora
Main belt
Adjectives Pandorian /pænˈdɔːriən/ [2]
Symbol 55 Pandora symbol (bold).svg (astrological)
Orbital characteristics [3]
Epoch May 5, 2025
Aphelion 3.158 AU (472.4 Gm)
Perihelion 2.358 AU (352.8 Gm)
2.758 AU (412.6 Gm)
Eccentricity 0.145
4.58 yr (1,673 d)
114.416°
Inclination 7.176°
10.287°
4.996°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 84.8±2.5 km [3]
Mass 3.1×1017 kg[ citation needed ]
4.804 h [3]
0.204 [3]
Tholen = M [3] [4]
SMASS = X [3]
7.84 [3]

    55 Pandora is a fairly large and relatively bright asteroid in the asteroid belt. Pandora was discovered by American astronomer and Catholic priest George Mary Searle on September 10, 1858, from the Dudley Observatory near Albany, New York. [5] It was his only asteroid discovery.

    It is named after Pandora, the first woman in Greek mythology, who unwisely opened a box that released evil into the world. The name was apparently chosen by Blandina Dudley, widow of the founder of the Dudley Observatory, who had been involved in an acrimonious dispute with the director of the observatory, astronomer B. A. Gould.[ dubious – discuss ] Gould felt that the name had an "apt significance". [6] The asteroid shares its name with Pandora, a moon of Saturn.

    This object is orbiting the Sun with a period of 4.58 years, a semi-major axis of 2.76  AU , and an eccentricity of 0.15. Its orbital plane lies at an angle of 7.2° to the plane of the ecliptic. Photometric observations of this asteroid at the Rozhen Observatory in Bulgaria during 2010 gave a light curve with a period of 4.7992 hours and a brightness variation of Δm=0.22 mag. This is consistent with a period of 4.804 hours and an amplitude of 0.24 obtained during a 1977 study. [7] It has a cross-sectional size of 84.8 kilometers (52.7 mi). [3]

    References

    1. ↑ "Pandora" . Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press.(Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
    2. ↑ John Krumpelmann (1959) Bayard Taylor and German Letters, p. 122
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "55 Pandora". JPL Small-Body Database Browser. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 10 September 2025.
    4. ↑ Britt, Daniel; et al. (November 2014), "Space Weathering in Olivine and the Mineralogy of (Some) M-Class Asteroids", American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #46, vol. 46, Bibcode:2014DPS....4650601B, 506.01.
    5. ↑ "Numbered Minor Planets 1–5000", Discovery Circumstances, IAU Minor Planet center, retrieved 7 April 2013.
    6. ↑ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 20. ISBN   978-3-540-00238-3.
    7. ↑ Radeva, V.; et al. (2011), "Rotation periods of the asteroids 55 Pandora, 78 Diana and 815 Coppelia", Bulgarian Astronomical Journal, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 133–141, Bibcode:2012MPBu...39...57P.
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