171 Ophelia
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | A. Borrelly |
| Discovery date | January 13, 1877 |
| Designations | |
| Main belt (Themis) | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Aphelion | 3.532 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.732 AU |
| 3.132 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.128 |
| 5.54 years | |
| Inclination | 2.54° |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 6.66535 hours | |
| Albedo | 0.062 |
|
Spectral type
|
C |
| 8.31 | |
171 Ophelia is a large, dark Themistian asteroid that was discovered by French astronomer Alphonse Borrelly on January 13, 1877, and named after the fictional character Ophelia in Shakespeare's play Hamlet.
This asteroid is a member of the Themis family of asteroids that share similar orbital elements.[2] It probably has a primitive composition, similar to that of the carbonaceous chondrite meteorites.
A 1979 study of the Algol-like light curve produced by this asteroid concluded that it was possible to model the brightness variation by assuming a binary system with a circular orbit, a period of 13.146 hours, and an inclination of 15° to the line of sight from the Earth.[3] Photometric observations of this asteroid at the Leura Observatory in Leura, Australia during 2006 gave a rotation period of 6.6666 ± 0.0002 hours and a brightness variation of 0.50 ± 0.02 in magnitude. This is in agreement with previous studies.[4]
Ophelia is also the name of a moon of Uranus.
References
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