348 May
May (minor planet designation: 348 May) is a large Main belt asteroid.[2] It was discovered by Auguste Charlois on 28 November 1892 in Nice, and was named for the German author Karl May.[4] This asteroid is orbiting the Sun at a distance of 2.97 AU with a period of 5.12 years and an eccentricity (ovalness) of 0.067. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 9.7° to the plane of the ecliptic.[2] During its orbit, this asteroid has made close approaches to the dwarf planet Ceres. For example, in September 1984 the two were separated by 6.3 Gm (0.042 AU).[5]
 Orbital diagram | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Auguste Charlois |
| Discovery date | 28 November 1892 |
| Designations | |
| (348) May | |
| Pronunciation | German: [ˈmaɪ] |
Named after | Probably Karl May[1] |
| 1892 R | |
| Main belt | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 123.36 yr (45,056 d) |
| Aphelion | 3.16969 AU (474.179 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 2.76919 AU (414.265 Gm) |
Semi-major axis | 2.96944 AU (444.222 Gm) |
| Eccentricity | 0.067437 |
| 5.12 yr (1,869.0 d) | |
| 21.8117° | |
| 0° 11m 33.418s / day | |
| Inclination | 9.74506° |
| 90.0424° | |
Argument of perihelion | 13.4397° |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 82.82±2.2 km |
| Mass | 9.47×1020 kg[3] |
Mean density | 2.09±0.05 g cm−3[3] |
| 7.3812 h (0.30755 d) | |
| 0.0448±0.002 | |
| 9.40 | |
Analysis of the asteroid light curve generated from photometric data collected during 2007 provided a rotation period of 7.385±0.004 h with a brightness variation of 0.16±0.03 in magnitude. This is consistent with an estimate from a 2006 study.[6] It is classified as a G-type asteroid[5] and spans a diameter of approximately 83 km.[2]
References
- Schmadel, L. (2003:44). Dictionary of minor planet names. Germany: Springer.
- "348 May (1892 R)". JPL Small-Body Database. NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
- Baer, James J.; Chesley, S. R. (July 2007), "Astrometric Masses of 21 Asteroids, and an Integrated Asteroid Ephemeris", American Astronomical Society, DDA meeting #38, Bibcode:2007DDA....38.0903B, 9.03.
- Schmadel, Lutz (2003), Dictionary of minor planet names, vol. 1, Springer, p. 44, ISBN 9783540002383
- Sitarski, G.; Todorovic-Juchniewicz, B. (April 1992), "Determination of the Mass of (1) Ceres from Perturbations on (203) Pompeja and (348) May", Acta Astronomica, 42: 139–144, Bibcode:1992AcA....42..139S.
- Sauppe, Jason; et al. (December 2007), "Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at the Oakley Observatory - March/April 2007", Bulletin of the Minor Planets Section of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers, 34 (4): 119–122, Bibcode:2007MPBu...34..119S.