[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

CERES



News Update, Ramble through the journals, by Professor Chris Kitchin,
ASTRONOMY NOW, Aug 1999, p. 8:

Shrinking Asteroid:

 The mass of Ceres is now thought to be about 8.74 x 10^20 kg (0.0146 %
Earth mass). This is a reduction by some 6.4 x 10^19 kg from other
recent estimates. The new value has been obtained by James Hilton of the
US Naval observatory, as part of a programme to improve the ephemerides
of the larger asteroids (Astron. J. 117, 1077, 1999). The masses of
Pallas and Vesta were also determined, but do not alter significantly
from previous values. The ephemerides are now sufficiently accurate to
give the positions of the 15 largest asteroids with an uncertainty of
only a few tenths of a second of arc per century.


Best regards,

Bernd

----------
Archives located at:
http://www.meteoritecentral.com/list_best.html

For help, FAQ's and sub. info. visit:
http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing_list.html
----------