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90 Antiope
90 Antiope is a double asteroid in the outer asteroid belt. It was discovered on 1 October 1866, by Robert Luther. In 2000, it was found to consist of two almost-equally-sized bodies orbiting each other. At average diameters of about 88 km and 84 km, both components are among the 500 largest asteroids. Antiope is a member of the Themis family of asteroids that share similar orbital elements.
The asteroid's proper name comes from Greek mythology, but it is unclear whether it refers to Antiope the Amazon or Antiope the mother of Amphion and Zethus.
Since the discovery of Antiope's binary nature, the name "Antiope" technically refers to the slightly larger of the two components. The smaller component is sometimes referred to under the (unofficial) designation S/2000 (90) 1. However, the name "Antiope" is also used to refer to the binary system as a whole.[where?]
The most remarkable feature of Antiope is that it consists of two components of almost equal size (the difference in mass is less than 2.5%), making it a truly "double" asteroid. Its binary nature was discovered on 10 August 2000 by a group of astronomers using adaptive optics at the Keck Telescope on Mauna Kea. Before this, IRAS observations had suggested that the asteroid was 120 km in diameter.
Antiope orbits in the outer third of the core region of the asteroid belt, and is a member of the Themis family.
Since each component is about 86±1 km across, with their centers separated by only about 171 kilometers, the gap separating the two halves is about the same as the diameter of each component. As a result, the two bodies orbit around the common center of mass which lies in the space between them. The orbital period is approximately 16.50 hours, and the eccentricity below 0.006. Every several years, a period of mutual occultations occurs when the asteroid is viewed from Earth. Using Kepler's third law, the mass and density of the components can be derived from the orbital period and component sizes.
The axis of the mutual orbit of the two components points towards ecliptic coordinates (β, λ) = (200°, 38°) with 2 degrees uncertainty. This is tilted about 63° to the circumsolar orbit of the system.
Antiope itself has an average diameter of about 88 km, while its companion has an average diameter of 84 km. Like most bodies in this region, the components of the Antiope system are of the dark C spectral type, indicating a carbonaceous composition. The low density (1.3±0.2 g/cm3) of its components (see below) suggests a significant porosity (>30%), indicating rubble-pile asteroids composed of debris that accumulated in the aftermath of a previous asteroid collision, possibly the one that formed the Themis family.[citation needed]
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90 Antiope AI simulator
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90 Antiope
90 Antiope is a double asteroid in the outer asteroid belt. It was discovered on 1 October 1866, by Robert Luther. In 2000, it was found to consist of two almost-equally-sized bodies orbiting each other. At average diameters of about 88 km and 84 km, both components are among the 500 largest asteroids. Antiope is a member of the Themis family of asteroids that share similar orbital elements.
The asteroid's proper name comes from Greek mythology, but it is unclear whether it refers to Antiope the Amazon or Antiope the mother of Amphion and Zethus.
Since the discovery of Antiope's binary nature, the name "Antiope" technically refers to the slightly larger of the two components. The smaller component is sometimes referred to under the (unofficial) designation S/2000 (90) 1. However, the name "Antiope" is also used to refer to the binary system as a whole.[where?]
The most remarkable feature of Antiope is that it consists of two components of almost equal size (the difference in mass is less than 2.5%), making it a truly "double" asteroid. Its binary nature was discovered on 10 August 2000 by a group of astronomers using adaptive optics at the Keck Telescope on Mauna Kea. Before this, IRAS observations had suggested that the asteroid was 120 km in diameter.
Antiope orbits in the outer third of the core region of the asteroid belt, and is a member of the Themis family.
Since each component is about 86±1 km across, with their centers separated by only about 171 kilometers, the gap separating the two halves is about the same as the diameter of each component. As a result, the two bodies orbit around the common center of mass which lies in the space between them. The orbital period is approximately 16.50 hours, and the eccentricity below 0.006. Every several years, a period of mutual occultations occurs when the asteroid is viewed from Earth. Using Kepler's third law, the mass and density of the components can be derived from the orbital period and component sizes.
The axis of the mutual orbit of the two components points towards ecliptic coordinates (β, λ) = (200°, 38°) with 2 degrees uncertainty. This is tilted about 63° to the circumsolar orbit of the system.
Antiope itself has an average diameter of about 88 km, while its companion has an average diameter of 84 km. Like most bodies in this region, the components of the Antiope system are of the dark C spectral type, indicating a carbonaceous composition. The low density (1.3±0.2 g/cm3) of its components (see below) suggests a significant porosity (>30%), indicating rubble-pile asteroids composed of debris that accumulated in the aftermath of a previous asteroid collision, possibly the one that formed the Themis family.[citation needed]