[meteorite-list] Mercury?

From: Bernd Pauli HD <bernd.pauli_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:44:15 2004
Message-ID: <3B3E3944.6238F575_at_lehrer1.rz.uni-karlsruhe.de>

meteorites_at_space.com wrote:

> I just read in Sky and Tel that the Abee Meteorite has been spectroscopically
> paired to asteroid 16 Psyche (sp). Does anyone know the orbit of this body?


Hello Steve an List,

McSween H.Y., Jr. (1999) Meteorites and Their Parent Planets, 2nd
Edition, 1999, p. 222:

Steven Ostro and his colleagues of the JPL have determined that the
radar albedo of mainbelt asteroid 16 Psyche is consistent with that of
almost pure metal, with a surface r e g o l i t h composed of fine,
porous material. This asteroid, 260 km in diameter, is probably the
largest exposed mass of refined metal in the solar system. Near-Earth
asteroid 1986 DA is also metallic, a 2-km chunk of gleaming iron with
hardly any regolith. The spectrum of sunlight reflected from the
surfaces of iron meteorites is frankly rather b o r i n g.

16 Psyche
Semimajor axis: 2.922
Eccentricity: 0.100
Sine of inclination: 0.045
Longitude of perihelion (1950.0): 20.2 degrees
Longitude of ascending node (1950.0): 171.4 degrees
Rotational period in hours: 4.196
Diameter: 249 km
Mean opposition distance from Earth: 1.92 AU
Type M

CUNNINGHAM C.J. (1988) Introduction To Asteroids
(Willmann-Bell Inc., p. 55-56):

M-types: These moderate-albedo (0.07-0.23) asteroids have been
associated with enstatite chondrites or stony-irons. A pure metallic
surface has now been ruled out.

GAFFEY M., McCORD T.B. (1979) Mineralogy and Petrology (In Asteroids,
eds. T. Gehrels et al., p. 717, Univ. Arizona Press, Tuscon, Arizona):

16 Psyche
Mineral assemblage: NiFe, Sil(E)
Meteoritic analog: E Chondrite, Iron


Best wishes,

Bernd
Received on Sat 30 Jun 2001 04:40:36 PM PDT