194 Prokne Explained

Minorplanet:yes
Mpc Name:(194) Prokne
Alt Names:A879 FA
Background:
  1. D6D6D6
194 Prokne
Pronounced:[1]
Adjective:Proknean [2]
Discoverer:C. H. F. Peters, 1879
Discovered:21 March 1879
Semimajor:2.6158AU
Perihelion:1.993AU
Aphelion:3.2386abbr=onNaNabbr=on
Period:4.23 yr (1545.3 d)
Inclination:18.509°
Eccentricity:0.23810
Dimensions:
Rotation:15.679abbr=onNaNabbr=on
Abs Magnitude:7.68
Epoch:31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Asc Node:159.32°
Arg Peri:163.24°
Mean Motion: / day
Observation Arc:136.76 yr (49950 d)
Uncertainty:0
Moid:0.986917AU
Jupiter Moid:2.15988AU
Tisserand:3.295
Named After:Procne

194 Prokne is a main-belt asteroid that was discovered by German-American astronomer C. H. F. Peters on March 21, 1879, in Clinton, New York, and named after Procne, the sister of Philomela in Greek mythology. Stellar occultations by Prokne have been observed twice, in 1984 from Italy and again in 1999 from Iowa (United States).

Observations from the W. M. Keck Observatory show the asteroid to be around 151 km across, with a size ratio of between the major and minor axes. For comparison, observations by the IRAS observatory gave a diameter of 164 km. The spectrum matches a classification of a C-type asteroid, indicating it has a primitive carbonaceous composition. Judging from radar data, the near surface solid density of the asteroid is 3.6

.

Based upon a light curve that was generated from photometric observations of this asteroid at Pulkovo Observatory, it has a rotation period of hours and varies in brightness by in magnitude.

Notes and References

  1. Encyclopedia: Procne . https://web.archive.org/web/20200322185801/https://www.lexico.com/definition/procne . dead . 22 March 2020 . Lexico UK English Dictionary . Oxford University Press.
  2. Harris & Lee (2004) Shakespearean criticism, p. 113