53 Kalypso is a large and very dark main belt asteroid that was discovered by German astronomer Robert Luther on April 4, 1858, at Düsseldorf.[1] It is named after Calypso, a sea nymph in Greek mythology, a name it shares with Calypso, a moon of Saturn.

53 Kalypso
Three-dimensional model of 53 Kalypso created based on light-curve.
Discovery[1]
Discovered byKarl Theodor Robert Luther
Discovery date4 April 1858
Designations
(53) Kalypso
Pronunciation/kəˈlɪps/[2]
Named after
Calypso
Main belt
AdjectivesKalypsonian /kælɪpˈsniən/[3]
Kalypsoian /kælɪpˈs.iən/
Orbital characteristics[4]
Epoch December 31, 2006 (JD 2454100.5)
Aphelion471.807 Gm (3.154 AU)
Perihelion311.998 Gm (2.086 AU)
391.903 Gm (2.620 AU)
Eccentricity0.204
1548.736 d (4.24 a)
98.113°
Inclination5.153°
143.813°
312.330°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions115.4 km[4]
Mass(1.294 ± 0.520/0.412)×1018 kg[5]
Mean density
1.625 ± 0.653/0.517 g/cm3[5][a]
9.036[6] h
0.040[4][7]
8.81[4]

The orbit of 53 Kalypso places it in a mean motion resonance with the planets Jupiter and Saturn. The computed Lyapunov time for this asteroid is 19,000 years, indicating that it occupies a chaotic orbit that will change randomly over time because of gravitational perturbations of the planets.[8]

Photometric observations of this asteroid during 2005–06 gave a light curve with a period of 18.075 ± 0.005 hours and a brightness variation of 0.14 in magnitude.[9] In 2009, a photometric study from a different viewing angle was performed at the Organ Mesa Observatory in Las Cruces, New Mexico, yielding a rotation period of 9.036 ± 0.001 with a brightness variation of 0.14 ± 0.02 magnitude. This is exactly half of the 2005–06 result. The author of the earlier study used additional data observation that favored the 9.036 hour period. The discrepancy was deemed a consequence of viewing the asteroid from different longitudes.[6]

Kalypso has been studied by radar.[10]

Notes

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  1. ^ Assuming a diameter of 115 ± 10.324 km.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Numbered Minor Planets 1–5000", Discovery Circumstances, IAU Minor Planet center, retrieved 7 April 2013.
  2. ^ Noah Webster (1884) A Practical Dictionary of the English Language
  3. ^ "calypsonian". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  4. ^ a b c d Yeomans, Donald K., "53 Kalypso", JPL Small-Body Database Browser, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, retrieved 12 April 2013.
  5. ^ a b Fienga, A.; Avdellidou, C.; Hanuš, J. (February 2020). "Asteroid masses obtained with INPOP planetary ephemerides". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 492 (1). doi:10.1093/mnras/stz3407.
  6. ^ a b Pilcher, Frederick (April 2010), "Rotation Period Determination for 53 Kalypso", The Minor Planet Bulletin, 37 (2): 75–76, Bibcode:2010MPBu...37...75P.
  7. ^ Asteroid Data Sets Archived 2009-12-17 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Šidlichovský, M. (1999), Svoren, J.; Pittich, E. M.; Rickman, H. (eds.), "Resonances and chaos in the asteroid belt", Evolution and source regions of asteroids and comets : proceedings of the 173rd colloquium of the International Astronomical Union, held in Tatranska Lomnica, Slovak Republic, August 24–28, 1998, pp. 297–308, Bibcode:1999esra.conf..297S.
  9. ^ Pray, Donald P.; et al. (December 2006), "Lightcurve analysis of asteroids 53, 698, 1016, 1523, 1950, 4608, 5080 6170, 7760, 8213, 11271, 14257, 15350 and 17509", The Minor Planet Bulletin, 33 (4): 92–95, Bibcode:2006MPBu...33...92P.
  10. ^ "Radar-Detected Asteroids and Comets". NASA/JPL Asteroid Radar Research. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
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