Klotho (
minor planet designation
A formal minor-planet designation is, in its final form, a number–name combination given to a minor planet (asteroid, centaur, trans-Neptunian object and dwarf planet but not comet). Such designation always features a leading number (catalog or ...
: 97 Klotho) is a fairly large
main-belt asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere.
...
. While it is an
M-type, its radar albedo is too low to allow a
nickel-iron composition. Klotho is similar to
21 Lutetia
)
, mp_category=Main belt
, mpc_name=(21) Lutetia
, orbit_ref =
, epoch=May 31, 2020 ( JD 2459000.5)
, semimajor=2.435 AU
, perihelion=2.037 AU
, aphelion=2.833 AU
, eccentricity=0.16339
, period=3.80 yr (1388.1 d)
, inclination=3.064Â ...
and
22 Kalliope
Kalliope ( ; minor planet designation: 22 Kalliope) is a large M-type asteroid from the asteroid belt discovered by J. R. Hind on 16 November 1852. It is named after Calliope, the Greek Muse of epic poetry. It is orbited by a small moon named Li ...
in that all three are M-types of unknown composition. Klotho was found by
Ernst Tempel on February 17, 1868. It was his fifth and final asteroid discovery. It is named after Klotho or
Clotho, one of the three
Moirai, or Fates, in
Greek mythology.
13-cm radar observations of this asteroid from the
Arecibo Observatory
The Arecibo Observatory, also known as the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC) and formerly known as the Arecibo Ionosphere Observatory, is an observatory in Barrio Esperanza, Arecibo, Puerto Rico owned by the US National Science F ...
between 1980 and 1985 were used to produce a diameter estimate of 108 km.
In 1990, the asteroid was observed for four nights from the
Collurania-Teramo Observatory in Italy, producing an asymmetric
light curve that showed a
rotation period
The rotation period of a celestial object (e.g., star, gas giant, planet, moon, asteroid) may refer to its sidereal rotation period, i.e. the time that the object takes to complete a single revolution around its axis of rotation relative to the ...
of 10.927 ± 0.001 hours and a brightness variation of 0.17 ± 0.02 in
magnitude. This period confirms a value independently determined in 1971.
References
External links
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Background asteroids
Klotho
Klotho
M-type asteroids (Tholen)
18680217
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