16974 Iphthime

16974 Iphthime
Hubble Space Telescope image of Iphthime taken in 2013
Discovery
Discovered byLINEAR
Discovery siteLincoln Lab's ETS
Discovery date18 November 1998
Designations
(16974) Iphthime
Pronunciation/ɪfˈθm/
Named after
Iphthime Iphthīmē/Ἰφθῑμη
(Greek mythology)
1998 WR21 · 1974 WX
1986 WS
Jupiter trojan
Greek · background
AdjectivesIphthimean
Orbital characteristics
Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc42.86 yr (15,655 d)
Aphelion5.5556 AU
Perihelion4.8248 AU
5.1902 AU
Eccentricity0.0704
11.82 yr (4,319 d)
261.74°
0° 5m 0.24s / day
Inclination15.036°
241.56°
134.72°
Jupiter MOID0.0605 AU
TJupiter2.9270
Physical characteristics
55.43±4.0 km
57.15±3.85 km
57.34±0.33 km
78.9±0.4 h
0.065±0.010
0.066±0.009
0.0691±0.011
C(assumed)
V–I = 0.960±0.035
9.80

    16974 Iphthime (/ɪfˈθm/; provisional designation 1998 WR21) is a Jupiter trojan and a binary system from the Greek camp, approximately 57 kilometers (35 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 18 November 1998, by astronomers with the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research at the ETS Test Site in Socorro, New Mexico. The dark Jovian asteroid belongs to the 80 largest Jupiter trojans and has a notably slow rotation of 78.9 hours. It was named after Iphthime from Greek mythology. The discovery of its companion by Hubble Space Telescope was announced in March 2016.