624 Hektor facts for kids
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | August Kopff |
| Discovery date | February 10, 1907 |
| Designations | |
| 1907 XM; 1948 VD | |
| Trojan asteroid | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch October 22, 2004 (JD 2453300.5) | |
| Aphelion | 800.220 Gm (5.349 AU) |
| Perihelion | 762.145 Gm (5.095 AU) |
| 781.183 Gm (5.222 AU) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.024 |
| 4358.521 d (11.93 a) | |
|
Average orbital speed
|
13.03 km/s |
| 94.752° | |
| Inclination | 18.198° |
| 342.791° | |
| 183.579° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 370 × 195 km |
| Mass | ~1.4×1019 kg |
|
Mean density
|
2 ? g/cm³ |
| ~0.067 m/s² | |
| ~0.13 km/s | |
| 0.2884 d (6.92 h) | |
| Albedo | 0.025 (geometric) |
| Temperature | ~122 K |
|
Spectral type
|
D |
| 13.79 to 15.26 | |
| 7.49 | |
| 0.078" to 0.048" | |
624 Hektor is the largest of the Jovian Trojan asteroids. These are space rocks that share Jupiter's orbit around the Sun. It was discovered in 1907 by a scientist named August Kopff.
Contents
What is 624 Hektor?
Hektor is a D-type asteroid. This means it is very dark and has a reddish color. It orbits in a special spot in space called a Lagrange point, specifically L4. This point is ahead of Jupiter as it moves around the Sun.
Why is Hektor a "Greek" asteroid?
The asteroids in Jupiter's L4 point are called the 'Greek' camp. This name comes from the famous Trojan War story. Interestingly, Hektor is named after Hektor, a hero from the Trojan side of that war. This makes it one of only two Trojan asteroids that is "misplaced" in the wrong camp. The other one is 617 Patroclus, which is in the 'Trojan' camp.
How Big is Hektor?
Hektor is one of the most stretched-out objects of its size in our solar system. It measures about 370 kilometers by 200 kilometers. Scientists think Hektor might be a contact binary. This means it could be two asteroids that are gently touching and held together by gravity. An example of another contact binary is 216 Kleopatra.
Discovering Hektor's Shape and Moon
In 1993, the Hubble Space Telescope looked at Hektor. However, it couldn't clearly show Hektor's stretched shape because its view wasn't sharp enough.
Then, on July 17, 2006, the Keck telescope used a special system called Adaptive Optics (AO). This system helped them see Hektor much more clearly. They confirmed its stretched shape. Even more exciting, they found a small moon orbiting Hektor! This moon is about 15 kilometers wide and orbits about 1000 kilometers away from Hektor. Its temporary name is S/2006 (624) 1.
Hektor is the first and only known binary Trojan asteroid in the L4 'Greek' camp. Another large Trojan asteroid, 617 Patroclus, also has two parts, but they are about the same size and orbit each other.
Images for kids
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This image shows a model of 624 Hektor based on how its brightness changes.
See also
In Spanish: (624) Hektor para niños
