72 Feronia

72 Feronia
A three-dimensional model of 72 Feronia based on its light curve on the top and an image of 72 Feronia on the bottom.
Discovery
Discovered byChristian Heinrich Friedrich Peters
Discovery date29 May 1861
Designations
Pronunciation/fɛˈroʊniə/
Named after
Feronia
Main belt
AdjectivesFeronian
Orbital characteristics
Epoch 9 June 2026 (JD 2461200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Aphelion2.541 AU (380.1 Gm)
Perihelion1.991 AU (297.8 Gm)
2.266 AU (339.0 Gm)
Eccentricity0.121
1,245.87 days (3.41 a)
38.122°
Inclination5.418°
207.925°
102.678°
Jupiter MOID2.677 AU
TJupiter3.601
Physical characteristics
84±10 km
Mass(9.45 ± 3.76/1.75)×1017 kg
(3.6±1.8)×1017 kg
Mean density
3.045 ± 1.212/0.565 g/cm3
1.18±0.72 g/cm3
8.09068 h
100° ± 6°
−51° ± 6°
0.063
TDG
8.94

72 Feronia is a quite large and dark main belt asteroid. It was the first asteroid discovery by C. H. F. Peters, on 29 May 1861, from Hamilton College, New York State. It was initially thought that Peters had merely seen the previously discovered asteroid 66 Maja, but T.H. Safford showed that it was a new body. Safford named it after Feronia, a Roman fertility goddess.

This asteroid is orbiting the Sun with a period of 3.41 years, having a semi-major axis of 2.266 AU and an eccentricity of 0.121. The orbital plane is inclined by an angle of 5.4° to the plane of the ecliptic. This is a spectral type TDG asteroid with a cross-section size of 84 km. The asteroid has an estimated rotation period of 8.09 h. Hanuš et al. (2013) gives two possible solutions for the pole in ecliptic coordinates: (λ1, β1) = (287°, −39°) or (λ1, β1) = (102°, −55°).

Notes

  1. ↑ Calculated from its standard gravitational parameter GM = 0.024±0.012 km3/s2.

References

  1. ↑ Noah Webster (1884) A Practical Dictionary of the English Language
  2. ↑ "JPL Small-Body Database Lookup: 72 Feronia" (2025-10-15 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Viikinkoski, M.; Hanuš, J.; Kaasalainen, M.; Marchis, F.; Ďurech, J. (November 2017). "Adaptive optics and lightcurve data of asteroids: twenty shape models and information content analysis". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 607: A117. arXiv:1708.05191. Bibcode:2017A&A...607A.117V. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201731456. ISSN 0004-6361. S2CID 67813915.
  4. 1 2 Fienga, A.; Avdellidou, C.; Hanuš, J. (February 2020). "Asteroid masses obtained with INPOP planetary ephemerides". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 492 (1). doi:10.1093/mnras/stz3407.
  5. 1 2 Fuentes-Muñoz, Oscar; Farnocchia, Davide; Giorgini, Jon D.; Park, Ryan S. (1 December 2025). "Asteroid Mass Estimation by Mutual Perturbations During Close Encounters After Gaia Focused Product Release". The Astronomical Journal. 170 (6): 353. Bibcode:2025AJ....170..353F. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ae0cc9. ISSN 0004-6256. S2CID 283347135.
  6. 1 2 Hanuš, J.; et al. (September 2013), "Sizes of main-belt asteroids by combining shape models and Keck adaptive optics observations", Icarus, 226 (1): 1045−1057, arXiv:1308.0446, Bibcode:2013Icar..226.1045H, doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2013.07.023.
  7. ↑ "Asteroid Data Sets". Archived from the original on 17 December 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2007.
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ Sheehan, William (1999), "Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters", Biographical Memoirs, vol. 76, National Academies Press, p. 289, ISBN 0309064341.
  10. ↑ Schmadel, Lutz (2003). Dictionary of minor planet names (fifth ed.). Germany: Springer. p. 22. ISBN 3-540-00238-3. Retrieved 31 December 2008.