81 Terpsichore
Orbital diagram | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Ernst Wilhelm Tempel |
| Discovery date | September 30, 1864 |
| Designations | |
| (81) Terpsichore | |
| Pronunciation | /tɜːrpˈsɪxərɛ/ |
Named after | Terpsichore |
| Main belt | |
| Adjectives | Terpsichorean /tɜːrpsɪxəˈriːən/ |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch December 31, 2006 (JD 2454100.5) | |
| Aphelion | 516.955 Gm (3.456 AU) |
| Perihelion | 337.132 Gm (2.254 AU) |
| 427.044 Gm (2.855 AU) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.211 |
| 1761.647 d (4.82 a) | |
Average orbital speed | 17.43 km/s |
| 149.581° | |
| Inclination | 7.809° |
| 1.497° | |
| 50.234° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 121.77 ± 2.34 km |
| Mass | (6.19 ± 5.31) × 1018 kg |
Mean density | 6.54 ± 5.62 g/cm3 |
| 10.943 hr | |
| 0.051 | |
| C | |
| 8.48 | |
81 Terpsichore is a large and very dark main-belt asteroid. It has most probably a very primitive carbonaceous composition. It was found by the prolific comet discoverer Ernst Tempel on September 30, 1864. It is named after Terpsichore, the Muse of dance in Greek mythology.
Photometric observations of the minor planet in 2011 gave a rotation period of 10.945±0.001 h with an amplitude of 0.09±0.01 in magnitude. This result is consistent with previous determinations. Two stellar occultation events involving this asteroid were observed from multiple sites in 2009. The resulting chords matched a smooth elliptical cross-section with dimensions of 134.0±4.0 km × 108.9±0.7 km.