Daphne (minor planet designation: 41 Daphne) is a large asteroid from the asteroid belt.[1] It is a dark-surfaced body 174 km in diameter is probably composed of primitive carbonaceouschondrites. The spectra of the asteroid displays evidence of aqueous alteration.[9] It was discovered by H. Goldschmidt on May 22, 1856, and named after Daphne, the nymphinGreek mythology who was turned into a laurel tree. Incorrect orbital calculations initially resulted in 56 Melete being mistaken for a second sighting of Daphne. Daphne was not sighted again until August 31, 1862.[10]
The orbit of 41 Daphne places it in a 9:22 mean motion resonance with the planet Mars. The computed Lyapunov time for this asteroid is 14,000 years, indicating that it occupies a chaotic orbit that will change randomly over time because of gravitational perturbations of the planets.[11]
In 1999, Daphne occulted three stars, and on July 2, 1999, produced eleven chords indicating an ellipsoid of 213×160 km.[5] Daphnean lightcurves also suggest that the asteroid is irregular in shape. Daphne was observed by Areciboradar in April 2008.[12][13] Based upon radar data, the near surface solid density of the asteroid is 2.4+0.7 −0.5 g cm−3.[14]
41 Daphne has at least one satellite, named Peneius (provisionally S/2008 (41) 1).[15][16] It was identified on March 28, 2008, and has a projected separation of 443 km, an orbital period of approximately 1.1 days,[6] and an estimated diameter of less than 2 km. If these preliminary observations hold up, this binary system has the most extreme size ratio known.[17]
In Greek myth, Pēneios is the god of the river of that name, and father of Daphne.
^ abcdeP. Vernazza et al. (2021) VLT/SPHERE imaging survey of the largest main-belt asteroids: Final results and synthesis. Astronomy & Astrophysics 54, A56
^Matter, Alexis; Marco Delbo; Sebastiano Ligori; Nicolas Crouzet; Paolo Tanga (2011). "Determination of physical properties of the asteroid (41) Daphne from interferometric observations in the thermal infrared". Icarus. 215 (1): 47–56. arXiv:1108.2616. Bibcode:2011Icar..215...47M. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2011.07.012.
^Using the volume of an ellipsoid of 239x183x153km * a density of 1.95 g/cm³ yields a mass (m=d*v) of 6.8E+18 kg
^Fornasier, S.; et al. (February 1999), "Spectroscopic comparison of aqueous altered asteroids with CM2 carbonaceous chondrite meteorites", Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement, 135: 65−73, Bibcode:1999A&AS..135...65F, doi:10.1051/aas:1999161.
^Šidlichovský, M. (1999), Svoren, J.; Pittich, E. M.; Rickman, H. (eds.), "Resonances and chaos in the asteroid belt", Evolution and source regions of asteroids and comets : proceedings of the 173rd colloquium of the International Astronomical Union, held in Tatranska Lomnica, Slovak Republic, August 24–28, 1998, pp. 297–308, Bibcode:1999esra.conf..297S.
