NationMaster - Encyclopedia: 113 Amalthea

**113 Amalthea**
Orbital characteristics ^{1 (ftp://ftp.lowell.edu/pub/elgb/astorb.html)}
Orbit type	Main belt
Semimajor axis	2.376 AU
Perihelion distance	2.168 AU
Aphelion distance	2.584 AU
Orbital period	3.66 years
Inclination	5.04�
Eccentricity	0.088
Physical characteristics ^{1 (ftp://ftp.lowell.edu/pub/elgb/astorb.html)}
Diameter	46.1 km
Rotation period	9.935 hours
Spectral class	S
Abs. magnitude	8.74
Albedo ^{4 (http://dorothy.as.arizona.edu/DSN/IRAS/index_iras.html)}	0.265
History ^{2 (http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/lists/NumberedMPs.html)}
Discoverer	R. Luther, 1871

113 Amalthea is a fairly typical rocky Main belt asteroid orbiting in the inner regions of the belt.

It was discovered by R. Luther on March 12, 1871.

One of Jupiter's inner small satellites is also called Amalthea. The name comes from Amalthea of Greek mythology.

This astronomy article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=113_Amalthea&action=edit).

Categories: Astronomy stubs | Main Belt asteroids

Results from FactBites:

Amalthea (moon) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (859 words)
	Amalthea is irregularly shaped, with dimensions of 270 × 168 × 150 km; the long axis is oriented toward Jupiter.
	Amalthea's irregular shape and large size led to conclusion that it is a fairly strong, rigid body; if it were composed of ices or other weak materials its own gravity would have pulled it into a more spherical shape.
	The result [2] was surprising: Amalthea's overall density is close to the density of water ice, although the moon is almost certainly not a solid hunk of ice.

More results at FactBites »

COMMENTARY

Share your thoughts, questions and commentary here

Want to know more?
Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:

Feeds | Contact
The Wikipedia article included on this page is licensed under the GFDL.
Images may be subject to relevant owners' copyright.
All other elements are (c) copyright NationMaster.com 2003-5. All Rights Reserved.
Usage implies agreement with terms, 1022, m