Linus (moon)
Encyclopedia : L : LI : LIN : Linus (moon)
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Jean-Luc Margot and Michael E. Brown |
| Discovered on | August 29, 2001 |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Is a satellite of | 22 Kalliope |
| Semimajor axis | km[synthesis of several observations] including recent ones with the VLT 8m telescope. |
| Eccentricity | < 0.005 |
| Orbital period | 3.590 d |
| Orbital speed | 21.5 m/s |
| Inclination | 9° |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 30-45 km (estimate) |
| Mass | (estimate) |
| Mean density | ~2-2.4 g/cm3 (estimate) |
| Surface gravity | ~0.01 m/s2 (estimate) |
| Escape velocity | ~20 m/s (estimate) |
| Rotation period | unknown, expected synchronous |
| Axial tilt | unknown, zero expected |
| Albedo | unknown |
| Apparent Magnitude | 9.7 |
With an estimated 38±6 km diameter , Linus is very large compared to most asteroid moons, and in fact would be a sizeable asteroid by itself. The only known larger moons in the Main belt are the two components of the double asteroid 90 Antiope.
On August 29, 2001, astronomers Jean-Luc Margot and Michael E. Brown discovered Linus orbiting 22 Kalliope with the Keck telescope. Another team also detected the moon with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on September 2, 2001. Both telescopes are on Mauna Kea. It received the provisional designation S/2001 (22) 1, and was named on August 8, 2003 after the mythological Linus, son of the muse Calliope and the inventor of melody and rhythm.
It has been estimated that Linus' orbit precesses at quite a rapid rate, making one cycle in several years. This is attributed primarily to the non-spherical shape of Kalliope . Linus's brightness has varied appreciably between observations, which may indicate that its shape is elongated .
Linus may have formed out of impact ejecta from a collision with Kalliope or a fragment captured after disruption of a parent asteroid (a proto-Kalliope).
External links
- [IAUC 7703], announcing Linus' discovery
- [IAUC 8177], announcing Linus' naming
- [Link to the Linus discovery paper , "A Low-Density M-type Asteroid in the Main Belt"]
- [Kalliope and Linus] very well resolved with the 8m VLT
- [orbit diagram for Linus]
- [Information on Kalliope, Linus' orbit and several images]
- [A different VLT image of Kalliope and Linus]
- [another image of Kalliope and Linus]
References
| The minor planets |
|---|
| Vulcanoids | Near-Earth asteroids | Main belt | Jupiter Trojans | Centaurs | Damocloids | Comets | Trans-Neptunians (Kuiper belt · Scattered disc · Oort cloud) |
| For other objects and regions, see: , , asteroid moons and the Solar system For a complete listing, see: List of asteroids. See also Pronunciation of asteroid names and Meanings of asteroid names. |
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