128 Nemesis
Main-belt asteroid
128 Nemesis is a large 180 km main-belt asteroid , of carbonaceous composition. It rotates rather slowly, taking about 78 hours to complete one rotation.[ 3] [ 9] Nemesis is the largest member of the Nemesian asteroid family bearing its name. It was discovered by J. C. Watson on 25 November 1872,[ 3] and named after Nemesis , the goddess of retribution in Greek mythology .
Nemesis' orbit
This object is orbiting the Sun with a period of 4.56 years and an eccentricity (ovalness) of 0.13. The orbital plane is inclined by 6.2° to the plane of the ecliptic . It is categorized as a C-type asteroid ,[ 10] indicating a primitive carbonaceous composition. Based on IRAS data Nemesis is about 188 km in diameter and is around the 33rd largest main-belt asteroid,[ 11] while WISE measurements yield a size of ~163 km.[ 7] The 77.81‑hour[ 12] rotation period is the second longest for an asteroid more than 150 km in diameter.[ 13]
Between 2005 and 2021, 128 Nemesis has been observed to occult eight stars.
Notes
^ Flattening derived from the maximum aspect ratio (c/a):
f
=
1
− − -->
c
a
{\displaystyle f=1-{\frac {c}{a}}}
, where (c/a) = 0.83± 0.04 .[ 6]
References
^ a b "128 Nemesis" . Minor Planet Center . Retrieved 14 September 2018 .
^ "Nemesis" . Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press . (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
^ a b c d e f g h i "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 128 Nemesis" (2017-10-31 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 14 September 2018 .
^ Hornum (1993) Nemesis, the Roman state and the games
^ Peery (1963) Studies in the Renaissance , vol. 10
^ a b c d e P. Vernazza et al. (2021) VLT/SPHERE imaging survey of the largest main-belt asteroids: Final results and synthesis. Astronomy & Astrophysics 54, A56
^ a b Masiero, Joseph R.; Grav, T.; Mainzer, A. K.; Nugent, C. R.; Bauer, J. M.; Stevenson, R.; et al. (August 2014). "Main-belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE: Near-infrared Albedos". The Astrophysical Journal . 791 (2): 11. arXiv :1406.6645 . Bibcode :2014ApJ...791..121M . doi :10.1088/0004-637X/791/2/121 . S2CID 119293330 .
^ a b c Carry, B. (December 2012), "Density of asteroids", Planetary and Space Science , 73 (1): 98–118, arXiv :1203.4336 , Bibcode :2012P&SS...73...98C , doi :10.1016/j.pss.2012.03.009 , S2CID 119226456 . See Table 1.
^ a b Scaltriti, F.; Zappala, V.; Schober, H. J. (January 1979), "The rotations of 128 Nemesis and 393 Lampetia - The longest known periods to date", Icarus , 37 (1): 133–141, Bibcode :1979Icar...37..133S , doi :10.1016/0019-1035(79)90121-0 .
^ DeMeo, Francesca E.; et al. (July 2009), "An extension of the Bus asteroid taxonomy into the near-infrared" (PDF) , Icarus , 202 (1): 160–180, Bibcode :2009Icar..202..160D , doi :10.1016/j.icarus.2009.02.005 , archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2014, retrieved 8 April 2013 . See appendix A.
^ "JPL Small-Body Database Search Engine: asteroids and orbital class (IMB or MBA or OMB) and diameter > 188.1 (km)" . JPL's Solar System Dynamics Group. Retrieved 17 April 2012 .
^ Pilcher, Frederick (July 2015), "New Photometric Observations of 128 Nemisis [sic ], 249 Ilse, and 279 Thule", The Minor Planet Bulletin , 42 (3): 190−192, Bibcode :2015MPBu...42..190P .
^ "JPL Small-Body Database Search Engine: diameter > 150 (km) and rot_per > 24 (h)" . JPL Solar System Dynamics . Retrieved 6 June 2015 .
External links