1848 in Science - Astronomical Objects Discovered in 1848, 9 Metis, 1848 in Paleontology, 1848 in Archaeology (Paperback)

Chapters: Astronomical Objects Discovered in 1848, 9 Metis, 1848 in Paleontology, 1848 in Archaeology. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 18. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: 9 Metis - The first 10 asteroids profiled against Earth's Moon. 9 Metis is second from right.Metis was discovered by Andrew Graham on 25 April 1848; it was his only asteroid discovery. It also has been the only asteroid to have been discovered as a result of observations from Ireland until 7 October 2008, when 160 years later, Dave McDonald from observatory J65 discovered 2008 TM9. Its name comes from the mythological Metis, a Titaness and Oceanid, daughter of Tethys and Oceanus. The name Thetis was also considered and rejected (it would later devolve to 17 Thetis). Metis' direction of rotation is unknown at present, due to ambiguous data. Lightcurve analysis indicates that the Metidian pole points towards either ecliptic coordinates (, ) = (23, 181) or (9, 359) with a 10 uncertainty. The equivalent equatorial coordinates are (, ) = (12.7 h, 21) or (23.7 h, 8). This gives an axial tilt of 72 or 76, respectively.Hubble space telescope images and lightcurve analyses are in agreement that Metis has an irregular elongated shape with one pointed and one broad end. Radar observations suggest the presence of a significant flat area, in agreement with the shape model from lightcurves. The Metidian surface composition has been estimated as 30-40% metal-bearing olivine and 60-70% Ni-Fe metal. Light curve data on Metis led to an assumption that it could have a satellite. However, subsequent observations failed to confirm this. Later searches with the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993 found no satellites. In 2007, Bear and Chesley estimated Metis to have a mass of 1.6-to-2.5 10 kg. This would give this stony astero...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=725575