Beatrix (minor planet designation: 83 Beatrix) is a fairly large asteroid orbiting in the inner part of the main asteroid belt. It was discovered by Annibale de Gasparis on April 26, 1865. It was his last asteroid discovery. A diameter of at least 68 kilometres (42 mi) was determined from the Beatrician stellar occultation observed on June 15, 1983. It is named for Beatrice Portinari,[4] beloved of Dante Alighieri and immortalized by him in La Vita Nuova and The Divine Comedy.
Discovery | |
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Discovered by | Annibale de Gasparis |
Discovery date | April 26, 1865 |
Designations | |
MPC designation | (83) Beatrix |
Pronunciation | /ˈbiːətrɪks/[1] |
Named after | Beatrice Portinari |
Minor planet category | Main belt |
Adjectives | Beatrician /biːəˈtrɪʃən/[2] |
Orbital characteristics | |
Epoch December 31, 2006 (JD 2454100.5) | |
Aphelion | 393.528 Gm (2.631 AU) |
Perihelion | 334.023 Gm (2.233 AU) |
Semi-major axis | 363.776 Gm (2.432 AU) |
Eccentricity | 0.082 |
Orbital period (sidereal) | 1385.035 d (3.79 a) |
Average orbital speed | 19.07 km/s |
Mean anomaly | 141.862° |
Inclination | 4.966° |
Longitude of ascending node | 27.800° |
Argument of perihelion | 167.170° |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 81.4 km |
Mass | 5.6×1017 kg |
Geometric albedo | 0.092 [3] |
Spectral type | X |
Absolute magnitude (H) | 8.66 |
On February 16, 2001, an occultation of a magnitude +9.09 star by this asteroid was observed from three locations. The resulting chords matched an elliptical profile with a mean radius of 35.9 km. The observers noted some dimming and flickering at the beginning of the event, which may indicate the star was binary or the asteroid has an irregular shape. Previous occultations had been observed in 1983 and 1990, which produced a much larger size estimate of 81.4 km.[5]
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Divine Comedy |
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