624 Hektor
Encyclopedia : 6 : 62 : 624 : 624 Hektor
| Orbital elements | |
|---|---|
| Eccentricity (orbit)>e | |
| Inclination>i | ° |
| Perihelion>q |
|
| Argument of perihelion>ω | ° |
| Semi-major axis>a | AU |
| Longitude of the ascending node>ω | ° |
| Aphelion>Q |
|
| Mean anomaly>M | ° |
| Orbital period>P | years |
| Mean motion>n | °/day |
| Time of perihelion passage>TP | |
Hektor is one of the most elongated bodies of its size in the solar system, being 370 × 195 km. It is thought that Hektor might be a contact binary (two asteroids joined by gravitational attraction) like 216 Kleopatra. Hubble Space Telescope observations of Hektor in 1993 did not show an obvious bilobated shape, but did not rule out the possibility of a contact binary.[link]
Hektor is a D-type asteroid, dark and reddish in colour. It lies in Jupiter's leading Lagrangian point, L4, called the 'Greek' node after one of the two sides in the legendary Trojan War. Ironically, Hektor is named after the Trojan hero Hektor, and is thus one of two Trojan asteroids that is "misplaced" in the wrong camp (the other being 617 Patroclus in the Trojan node).
Hektor in fiction
- Stephen Baxter's short story 'The Fubar Suit' (1997) depicts an astronaut exploring Hektor. [Sample from 'The Baxterium' website].
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