43 Ariadne

43 Ariadne is a fairly large and bright main-belt asteroid. It is the second-largest member of the Flora asteroid family. It was discovered by N. R. Pogson on 15 April 1857 and named after the Greek heroine Ariadne.

43 Ariadne

A three-dimensional model of 43 Ariadne based on its light curve
Discovery
Discovered by	N. R. Pogson
Discovery date	15 April 1857
Designations
MPC designation	(43) Ariadne
Pronunciation	/æriˈædniː/[1]
Named after	Ariadne
Minor planet category	Main belt (Flora family)
Adjectives	Ariadnean, Ariadnian /æriˈædniən/
Orbital characteristics
Epoch 26 November 2005 (JD 2453700.5)
Aphelion	384.954 Gm (2.573 AU)
Perihelion	274.339 Gm (1.834 AU)
Semi-major axis	329.646 Gm (2.204 AU)
Eccentricity	0.168
Orbital period (sidereal)	1194.766 d (3.27 a)
Mean anomaly	101.582°
Inclination	3.464°
Longitude of ascending node	264.937°
Argument of perihelion	15.948°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	95 km × 60 km × 50 km[2][3][4]
Mass	(3.27 ± 1.35/0.59)×1017 kg[5]
Mean density	3.042 ± 1.255/0.547 g/cm3[5][a]
Synodic rotation period	0.2401 d[6]
Geometric albedo	0.274[7]
Spectral type	S
Apparent magnitude	8.8[8] to 13.42
Absolute magnitude (H)	7.93
Angular diameter	0.11–0.025″

Characteristics

Ariadne is very elongate (almost twice as long as its smallest dimension) and probably bi-lobed^[4] or at least very angular. It is a retrograde rotator, although its pole points almost parallel to the ecliptic towards ecliptic coordinates (β, λ) = (−15°, 253°) with a 10° uncertainty.^[3] This gives an axial tilt of about 105°.

Studies

43 Ariadne was in a study of asteroids using the Hubble FGS. Asteroids studied include (63) Ausonia, (15) Eunomia, (43) Ariadne, (44) Nysa, and (624) Hektor.^[9]

Notes

1. Assuming a diameter of 59 ± 4 km.