2101 Adonis
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| Discovery A | |
|---|---|
| Discoverer | Eugene Delporte |
| Discovery date | February 12, 1936 |
| Alternate designations B |
1936 CA |
| Category | Apollo, Mars crosser |
| Orbital elements C | |
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|
|
| Eccentricity (e) | 0.765 |
| Semi-major axis (a) | 280.289 Gm (1.874 AU) |
| Perihelion (q) | 65.906 Gm (0.441 AU) |
| Aphelion (Q) | 494.673 Gm (3.307 AU) |
| Orbital period (P) | 936.742 d (2.56 a) |
| Mean orbital speed | 18.10 km/s |
| Inclination (i) | 1.349° |
| Longitude of the ascending node (Ω) |
350.580° |
| Argument of perihelion (ω) |
42.438° |
| Mean anomaly (M) | 307.406° |
| Physical characteristics D | |
| Dimensions | 0.5—1.2 km 1 |
| Mass | 0.13—1.8×1012 kg |
| Density | 2.0? g/cm³ |
| Surface gravity | 0.0001—0.0003 m/s² |
| Escape velocity | 0.0003—0.0006 km/s |
| Rotation period | ? d |
| Spectral class | ? |
| Absolute magnitude | 18.7 |
| Albedo (geometric) | 0.20—0.04 1 |
| Mean surface temperature |
197—207 K |
2101 Adonis was one of the first near-Earth asteroids to be discovered. It was discovered by Eugene Delporte in 1936 and named after Adonis, the beautiful youth with whom the goddess Venus fell in love. Adonis is believed to measure approximately 1 km in diameter.
In the close approach that led to its initial discovery, not enough observations could be made to calculate an orbit, and Adonis was lost until 1977 when it was rediscovered by Charles T. Kowal.
Adonis was the second Apollo asteroid to be discovered (after 1862 Apollo itself).
It comes within 30 Gm of the Earth six times in the 21st century, the nearest being 5.3 Gm in 2036.
In the 1954 Tintin adventure Explorers on the Moon, a drunken Capt. Haddock almost becomes a satellite of the asteroid.
[edit] Adonis in fiction
- See Asteroids in fiction.
[edit] External links
| Minor planets | ||
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| For other objects and regions, see: asteroid groups and families, binary asteroids, 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. |
