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205 Martha

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205 Martha
Orbital diagram
Discovery
Discovered byJohann Palisa
Discovery date13 October 1879
Designations
(205) Martha
Pronunciation/ˈmɑːrθə/[1]
Named after
Martha of Bethany
A879 TB
Main belt
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc136.51 yr (49860 d)
Aphelion2.8758 AU (430.21 Gm)
Perihelion2.6783 AU (400.67 Gm)
2.7771 AU (415.45 Gm)
Eccentricity0.035571
4.63 yr (1690.3 d)
17.87 km/s
198.37°
0° 12m 46.692s / day
Inclination10.696°
211.792°
177.281°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions80.58±1.4 km
14.911 h (0.6213 d)
0.0553±0.002
C
9.23

205 Martha is a large main belt asteroid. It is a dark, primitive carbonaceous C-type asteroid. This object was discovered by Johann Palisa on 13 October 1879, in Pola and was named after Martha, a woman in the New Testament.

Efforts to determine the rotation period for this asteroid have produced wildly different results, in large part because the actual period is close to half of an Earth day. A study performed during 2013 showed that the light curve changed significantly during the observation period, adding to the difficulty. This study gave a synodic rotation period of 14.905 ± 0.001 h.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Noah Webster (1884) A Practical Dictionary of the English Language
  2. ^ "205 Martha". JPL Small-Body Database. NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  3. ^ Hawkins, Scot; Ditteon, Richard (January 2014), "Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at the Oakley Observatory - May 2007", Minor Planet Bulletin, 41 (1): 47–49, Bibcode:2014MPBu...41...47P.
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